Another of the Braves promising prospects is 22 year old Brett Cumberland, a switch hitting catching prospect out of California. Cumberland was chosen by the Braves in the June 2016 Armature Draft as number 76 over-all. He was tapped in the “B” competitive compensation round. Cumberland had played for the California Golden Bears of the Pac 12 and was the Pac 12 Player of the Year in 2016 as a sophomore.

After inking a pro contract with a signing bonus of 1.5 million dollars, he was assigned to Atlanta’s Appalachian League affiliate, in Danville Virginia. While appearing in 45 games the rookie league, he had 189 plate appearances and 162 official at bats. he amassed 35 hits including 11 doubles and 3 home runs. He had 14 walks and 49 strike outs. His slash line was .216 batting average/.317 on base percentage/ .340 slugging percentage/ on base plus slugging of .657. He also hit into 4 double plays and hit by pitch 11 times. Not exactly star studded numbers but not unusual for a rookie.

In 2017 he was posted to lower A Rome of the Southern League to begin his season and appeared in 55 games. In 236 plate appearances he had 175 official at bats. He stroked 46 hits, 15 doubles, 1 triple and 10 home runs. He drove in 48 runs and had one stolen base. He had 61 strike outs and 31 walks. He was also hit by pitch 25 times and only hit into 1 double play. In mid season he was promoted to Advance A Florida Fire Frogs in Florida State League. In 56 games he put up 216 plate appearance and 182 at bats. he had 49 hits, 12 doubles, 1 triple and 1 home run. He had 18 walks and 62 strikeouts. His slash line was .269/.384/.363 and an OPS of .747. He hit into 5 DPs. He was also hit by pitch 16 times.

it should be noted that in 112 games played in A ball in 2017 he was used as the designated hitter in 62 games and caught in 50 games as he split time at the position with Tanner Murphy. Cumberland only threw out 17 of 60 would be base stealers for a 22% success rate. He also had 14 passed balls in his two seasons in minor league ball.

This fall, the 5′-11″ 205 pound catcher was placed with the Melbourne Aces of the Australian Baseball Association. Cumberland has appeared as both a catcher and as a right fielder. It is as a outfielder I believe will be his eventual landing spot if he makes it to the show. He is still two to three years away from the Show but as he fine tunes his game, he has the potential to be a major league ball player.

That is so true of so many draft picks Vee, playing everyday as opposed to 3 times a week. Staying focused when you have no money, okay, Brett got a nice signing bonus but most don’t. Then you get the flip side of having to stay hungry, cough (Hector Olivera) who got a $50MM signing bonus from the Dodgers.

The kid who has really taken off in Australia has been Tyler Neslony. He is putting up numbers similar to what he did at high A Florida. Sometimes it takes a while for kids to develop. Some never do and some are just messed up by a meddlesome coach who try to “fix” a swing.

I am of a mind that “pitch recognition” may be more important than “swing plane”. I suppose that is why so much time is spent on trying to learn a pitcher’s “tells” . It could also explain why some can’t miss prospects never make it in the Show. To me, it is all about a pitcher’s deception and a hitter’s ability to decipher said deception.

So here we sit on January 3. I believe, as some local beat writers, that Thoppy has another move or 2 in him, one of which might be somewhat significant. But as things stand, the 2018 version of this team looks to be as shown below. Keep in mind that some bullpen jobs will need to be one. Scott Kazmir will have to prove to be healthy. 5th starter and bench spots must be won. But with the roster as it currently stands, this looks to be our 25 man roster going into 2018:

Personally, there is alot about this 25 man roster that I don’t like. I don’t like the rotation. I don’t like the lineup. I don’t like the bench. I think I might could live with the bullpen, but it isn’t what I’d do with it.

I just simply don’t like what we have. I think this is a .500 roster at best. Here is what I’d do:

I’m trading Kazmir because I don’t want him gumming up my young rotation. I’ll live or die with my youngsters in 2018. I’m letting Newcomb and Fried battle for the 5th spot with the “loser” staying stretched out at AAA. You never know… I might trade McCarthy in July.

I need a real 3B. This lineup isn’t far from being good. I don’t want a “get by” in an important offensive position. And i really want Johan on my bench. The bench was actually a strength last year. Why mess it up? Speaking of which…

Not sure if we need both Camargo and Culberson, but I think I’m OK with it since Johan plays all over the place. Danny Santana could sneak in. I’d like another TBD candidate to battle in spring, too. Rio?

I still believe Sims is best utilized in short bursts. and I think he could excel that way. If Kazmir is traded, you can slot in either Chase Whitley or Josh Ravin.

This is still not really a true contending roster, but I think it’s better than the first one, especially if we can get some impact at 3B. And speaking of which, wouldn’t it be something if Rio showed up this year and seized the job? Nobody expects it, but it’s those kind of surprises that can turn a ho-hum team into something exciting.

The Braves made some progress toward acquiring Yelich during the Winter Meetings. But the Marlins slowed things down as they were dealing with backlash from the Stanton/Gordon/Ozuna deals. Atlanta has maintained interest and there was always a sense the talks would resume. https://t.co/PaEgxCS02M

Of course it’s all speculation at this point, but you can pretty much count on a Yelich deal taking at least 2 of our top pitching prospects, probably a 3rd arm, a young position prospect or 2, and probably an exchange of Markakis $11M commitment for Prado’s $28.5M commitment.

Here’s a wild-card scenario for you, though. If the Braves were willing to take on a significant financial obligation, basically MIA’s “Kemp”, they might save a few arms, or even get Realmuto tossed in.

I’m talking about injury plagued LHP Wei-Yin Chen. He was limited to just 9 games last season because of elbow discomfort, is due $18M, $20M and $22M the next 3 seasons, with a $16M player option for 2021 that vests if he has 180 IP in 2020 or 360 IP in 2019 and 2020 combined. or if he is not on the disabled list at the end of the 2020 season and is healthy for 2021 spring training. Chen has been considered untradable… kind of like Kemp. AA proved to be creative in that instance, though. What if he agreed to take on that obligation in the deal?

I’m not saying we should, but Yelich is a special player on a team friendly deal, and Realmuto is one of the best youn catchers in MLB. The Brave’s current payroll drops significant;y after 2018, so it’s feasible. If the AA could pull off a blockbuster that brought back Yelich and Realmuto, taking on the contracts of Prado and Chen, but retaining the core of our young pitching, it might just make him the King of Cobb County.

Obviously the Braves cannot pitch all of their young pitchers that are about to start arriving in waves. And obviously some will be traded to fill areas of need elsewhere. Pitchers I hope are untouchable: Luiz Gohara, Mike Soroka, Kolby Allard, Kyle Wright. All the others would hurt to lose, but the ones mentioned above all have top-of-the-rotation ability. Young position players I hope are untouchable; Ozzie and Acuna. Notice I didn’t list Dansby. First, his trade value is not very high. Second, he’s replaceable. If I have a lineup that starts with Ender, Ozzie, Yelich, Freddie, Acuna, Realmuto, I’ll be perfectly happy with Charlie Culberson at SS.

An OF of Yelich/Ender/Acuna could be elite offensively and defensively for several years to come. Add to that the venerable Freddie Freeman and the dynamic Ozzie Albies, plus the possibility of JT Realmuto catching the oung stud pitchers for the foreseeable future, and I’m truly willing to open up the vault.

How about the just acquired Brandon McCarthy and Scott Kazmir for Wei-Yin Chen? That would help grease the skids to get a Yelich/Realmuto deal done. MIA could save a ton of coin if they were willing to demand less from the Braves farm.

Speculation is just that but if the Braves could get some decent pitching, they could become a factor, after all, the Fish had a pretty stout offense last season but could not keep the opposition off the board.

When Alex Anthopoulos became the Braves’ general manager in November, he inherited one of the top farm systems in baseball.

Through blockbuster trades while GM of the Blue Jays, Anthopoulos demonstrated that he’s not afraid to part with top prospects. In Atlanta, he’s already constructed a creative swap of large contracts with the Dodgers. And he may not be done with major moves in his first offseason with the Braves.

The Braves have contacted the Marlins to express interest in trading for outfielder Christian Yelich and catcher J.T. Realmuto, sources said. While the talks have yet to advance, there’s little doubt that the Braves have the prospect depth to entice their National League East rival.

One major reason for Anthopoulos to be opportunistic: Freddie Freeman, Julio Teheran and Ender Inciarte are the only players on guaranteed contracts with the Braves beyond the 2018 season, providing Anthopoulos with a high degree of financial flexibility.

The Braves also are open to signing a free-agent starting pitcher, one source said this week, although they are not currently engaged in active negotiations within that marketplace. For now, the Braves have only three starters locked into rotation spots for 2018: Teheran, Mike Foltynewicz and the newly acquired Brandon McCarthy.

Since the Braves aren’t close to Major League Baseball’s competitive balance tax threshold, Anthopoulos has the freedom to backload multiyear contracts without major financial repercussions. With many starting pitchers still unsigned — Yu Darvish, Jake Arrieta, Alex Cobb and Lance Lynn, among others — one could fall into the Braves’ price range.

Suddenly, we are talking about actually competing in 2018. A trade for Yelich coupled with a signing of a real top starter, and the Braves could actually be in the post-season hunt.

One more post-script to my being on the “go” side of trading for Yelich and signing a FA pitcher…

Is 2018 the year to make such bold moves? Absolutely. Have you looked at the rest of the NL East? Those 2 moves alone would immediately vault the Braves into division contention at best, Wild Card contention at worst. Playing an unbalanced schedule against the floundering Fish (see what I did there?), miserable Mutts and flailing Phils would help boost our overall W/L record to ward off other NL Wild Card contenders even if we cannot surpass the still talented Nats.

Hmmm… I was just reminded that the 4 FA starting P’s named above – Yu Darvish, Jake Arrieta, Alex Cobb and Lance Lynn – were all extended QO’s, thus would cost the Braves their 3rd highest draft pick if signed. Given that they are already penalized their 3rd round pick this year because of Coppy-gate, would they also be willing to forfeit their 4th as well? I’m not so sure they would.

I am of the mind that Fried is on a lot of folks radar now given how he pitched at the end of last season in the Bigs as well as his stellar work in the AFL.

I love him too, but I’d let him go in a fair deal for Yelich. As I said earlier, the only ones I see as untouchable are Gohara, Allard, Wright and Soroka. Soroka could be our “ace” within 2 years. He’s that good.

Joe Frisaro, MLB.com: According to multiple sources, the Nationals are interested in Realmuto and Yelich, either individually or perhaps together in what would be a mega package.

Yet another reason for the Braves to make a push. If the Nats were to acquire both, the Braves would well be chasing them for several more years. The Braves should absolutely make a move for 1 of the 2. As Bowman aptly noted, “either of them would provide Freeman the protection he doesn’t have within the current projected lineup” and hasn’t had consistently since Justin Upton.

*Still, I would love to have both Realmuto and Yelich but if I were to have my druthers, I’d take which ever one best helps the Braves long term. That would be a real catcher.

As much as I drool over a dream OF of Yelich/Ender/Acuna, I think the rational side of me has to agree, Gil. It should cost you the aforementioned package of young pitchers, plus one of catchers Suzuki or Flowers, and catching prospect Alex Jackson.

And the Braves can more easily pick up an OF in FA next year than they can a catcher. Guys that will be available include Marwin Gonzalez, AJ Pollock, Charlie Blackmon, Andrew McCutchen and Adam Jones. (Notice I didn’t mention Bryce Harper. I figured there was no need to.)

Still, I would love to have both Realmuto and Yelich but if I were to have my druthers, I’d take which ever one best helps the Braves long term. That would be a real catcher.

As much as I drool over a dream OF of Yelich/Ender/Acuna, I think the rational side of me has to agree, Gil. It should cost you the aforementioned package of young pitchers, plus one of catchers Suzuki or Flowers, and catching prospect Alex Jackson.

And the Braves can more easily pick up an OF in FA next year than they can a catcher. Guys that will be available include Marwin Gonzalez, AJ Pollock, Charlie Blackmon, Andrew McCutchen and Adam Jones. (Notice I didn’t mention Bryce Harper. I figured there was no need to.)

The Nationals do need a catcher and they are pretty certain Harper will be departing for locations west.

The Nationals have some very good prospects but nowhere near the pitching prospects, if they did, they would not have gone outside of the organization for bullpen help.

The gNats are going to have to decide if they want to try and keep Harper or Strasburg, I don’t think they can keep both. That is even with deep pockets the gNats have. At some point they will be celebrating Max Scherzer day like the Mets celebrate Bobby Bonia day…

Like the old adage, “Its hard to forget a girl for whom you buy a gift on time”….

For sure, Jeter would love to get the gNats and the Bravos in a bidding war over these two. The Braves advantage would be the salary cap room they have. Of course, Werth does drop off the National’s payroll this year but…

Among the 4 names I mentioned as my untouchables, the order in my mind is probably this:

1A, Mike Soroka
1B, Luis Gohara
3, Kyle Wright
4, Kolby Allard

So if one of my untouchables has to go to make it happen, I’ll swallow hard and live with Allard. His LH delivery, above-average cutter, above-average change and above-average curve will make him tough to face in the same division, though.

To be honest, I’m not opposed to letting the experienced Sean Newcomb go. I like him, but I’m more excited about the ones to come, Soroka especially. And I hope he gets to show us why sometime in the middle of this summer. You can all call me crazy, but with Soroka and Gohara leading the other highly touted youngsters, we are going to have a fantastic rotation sooner than later.

Yes Vee, trades are always a gamble and let’s face it, no matter what a club does, 29 MLB teams will end the season falling short. I would think winning multiple World Series will become even harder.

Now, having said all that, the guy who is smartest in all this is Loria, able to squeeze 1.2 billion dollars out of a group of investors for a very poor franchise. What must the Braves actually be worth?

So, while the Marlins wait for the best return for what talent they have left, they hope the Braves will get into a bidding war with the gNats. Oh, how Coppy’s f****- *p really hurts right now because Maitan would have been a heck of a bargaining chip.

Oh well, nothing we can do about it now other than hope some of the Braves draft picks blossom into real talent.

You know it’s funny…. I think Sean Newcomb is a bit exasperating with his walks, but…he’s 24. and does remind one of Jon Lester, correct? 4-9 4.32 is not bad for a first year. A lot of braves greats were a LOT worse their first year, though they were probably up too soon.
Meanwhile, Folty is 26, and last year? 10-14 with a 4.79 ERA.
I would be much more likely to give up on him, than Newcomb. Hard throwing lefties are not exactly a dime a dozen….

When you have a leaky defense, young pitchers feel like they have to strike everyone out and that leads to even more problems.

It’s okay to strike out the side but no one is going to do it constantly and be around for more than a few innings.

I was more impressed with Max Fried and especially Gohara but April is a new season…. Get an offense that can put up a few runs on the board every night and I’ll take my chances with a stout pitching staff.

So. I guess there must be some smoke as far as the Yelich/Realmuto/Braves story. I guess it make so much sense to everyone their has to be some real possibilities that a trade could happen.

Sort of like the person who decides they want a particular brand of car, it is going to happen, just a matter of what dealer they are going to buy from. That and how much they are willing to pay, but, it is going to happen….

.. almost exactly as we had it here first, except that he did not have LAdams and Preston Tucker platooning in LF. Since we posted ours, we have been teased by the rumors of AA talking to The Fish about one or both of Christian Yelich and JT Realmuto.

But reality overtook emotion and the chances of AA giving up what it would cost to make such a deal happen is very slim. So how could we realistically improve this lineup which doesn’t exactly inspire hope and optimism? I could make a major improvement with just one signing, and that is for Todd Frazier at 3B.

Ber, I know you will immediately show me The Toddfather’s batting line from 2017, which is .213/.321/.459. He also popped 27 HR’s.

I’m loathe to pull up a boutique stat, but I’m afraid I have to this time, especially since the new administration is much more reliant on such numbers. Todd Frazier’s WAR (Wins Above Replacement) for 2017 was 3.4. Can anyone guess where that would rank among the 2017 Braves?

Before I answer that question, I’ll comment that of the 7 Braves players that posted a WAR of 1.0 or better in 2017, only 3 were in the lineup more than 100 games, and one of those was traded away. Freddie Freeman was the team leader at 4.5 WAR. Ender Inciarte ranked 2nd with 3.0.

Yep, that’s right. Todd Frazier would have ranked 2nd on the 2017 Braves in relative value.

Signing Frazier would give the Braves a competent everyday starter at 3B, a real power threat to protect Freddie Freeman in the batting order, and would allow Johan Camargo to do what Johan Camargo does best, and that’s be the super-sub.

As bad as Matt Kemp was, there is no denying the difference it made for Freddie to have Kemp’s power threat behind him in the lineup. And Frazier’s 27 HR’s last season makes him a legitimate power threat regardless of his .213 AVG.

One simple short-term signing that would cost nothing but money, and not even alot of that in 2018 dollars.

Ber, I know you will immediately show me The Toddfather’s batting line from 2017, which is .213/.321/.459. He also popped 27 HR’s.

V, you know me too well 😉
Heres a question. Has there ever been a .213 hitter protecting the best hitter on the club?
Now, to be fair….Todd was a much better hitter in the NL, for some reason. .225 and 213 last two seasons in the AL…last two seasons in the NL. .273, and.255, but of course, that was while playing in the great American small park. where he had a career .268 BA
Seitzer, might help him a bit too.
It’s just weird….Camargo…all he did was hit his first year, and folks seem to think he’s a bench player…and that’s all he’d be here, unless Dansby tanks. How often is he going to fill in for Frazier? Ozzie? Dansby…if he hits?
Camargo had 27 extra base hits in 241 Abs, Todd had 47, in 474 AB’s (In 147 games, I’m guessing his low BA meant he was pinch hit for quite a bit, he didn’t even hit .200 in Yankee stadium last year)
I just don’t know… IF Frazier hit .240/250 with 30 + HR’s, sure….but, he didn’t do either last year…in pretty good hitting parks…
but Camargo, he can play once a week, and pinch hit most nights, and play the 9th at 3rd sometimes…I’d like to see what he could do full time…
Heck, I’d put him in left and see what he could do….

but Camargo, he can play once a week, and pinch hit most nights, and play the 9th at 3rd sometimes…I’d like to see what he could do full time… Heck, I’d put him in left and see what he could do….

I’d like to see him get a start in LF from time to time. And at 3B. And at SS. Which is exactly my desire. I think he can play all over the field, rest some guys periodically, and still get significant playing time.

Has there ever been a .213 hitter protecting the best hitter on the club?

Over the last 4 seasons, Frazier has HR totals of 29, 35, 40, and 27. And in the process, he has driven in 80, 89, 98, and 76 runs. So while he doesn’t have a sexy batting avg, he’s still a significant power threat. He’d still provide protection in the order. I mean… as a pitcher, I’d still issue Freddie a BB if the next guy up is just gonna slap singles. Or is Adonis Garcia. 😉

Once the FA market starts churning, it'll be interesting to see what #Braves do about 3B. Veteran on short deal as bridge to Austin Riley would be most attractive, if a guy like Todd Frazier's price fits their budget.

If he repeats last season, with a low batting average but 27 homers and something close to that .344 OBP? Then I think the #Braves and particularly Freddie benefit more from the $7M (or even $10M) spent on Frazier than on pitching, but I don't think it's just a binary choice. https://t.co/tn8g1aI4o8

If the Braves opt to spend their limited $$ on a 3B bridge (aka Todd Frazier), then their pitching options beyond Julio, Folty, Newcomb, McCarthy, and Gohara are still Scott Kazmir, Max Fried, Lucas Sims, Mike Soroka, and Kolby Allard. Some of those will win a spot on the big league roster; some will open 2018 in AAA as depth. (That Gwinnett team will be tough!)

If the Braves opt to spend their limited $$ on pitching, then their remaining 3B options behind Johan Camargo are Rio Ruiz and Adonis Garcia. Yowser. We better hope that Camargo is the new Iron Man. And if we need him to play SS or 2B in the event of something unmentionable, we really suck at 3B.

If the Braves opt to spend their limited $$ on a 3B bridge, we still have Camargo to back up 3B as well as those other positions.

If the Braves opt to spend their limited $$ on pitching, then one more of the above mentioned guys remains in AAA. (That Gwinnett team will be tougher!) Actually, one might even need to open in AA. Interesting, but I digress.

Seems to me that simple logic points toward helping out the position with the deficiency.

Actually get on base? Frazier had a .344 OBP in 2017, about 30 points higher than Moustakas (.314),
Longoria (.313) or Machado (.310). His .772 OPS was 10 points below Machado’s .782

I think this actually makes a case for why boutique stats…suck 😛
Ask team GM’s (even the 20 something statheads) which of the 4 they would choose….
Frazier was hitting in the .180’s when June started last year.,..I’m just sayin’ ….I won’t cry if he’s signed, but he is going to need to improve as his BA has been going downward the last 2 years….
by the by, Johan’s OBP? .783, guess he’s better than all those 3rd basemen, and we should rest easy with him getting most of the starts! 😆

And who, at the end of the season, will have more RBI? Flow? Kakes? Toddfather?

Look at it this way… If we go into 2018 with the lineup as it currently looks, we have a very good 1-3, no real middle of the order boppers, and a bunch of leftovers for 6 straight outs. Seriously, as much as I love the Braves, I am not so delusional as to think that Tyler Flowers, Nick Markakis, Lane Adams, Johan Camargo or Dansby Swanson is going to make any opposing pitcher or manager feel uncomfortable. That’s 2/3 of the lineup. So you might as well walk Freddie Freeman too, because the lineup drops off like a hot brick after him. Will Frazier turn us into a playoff contender? Not by himself, no. But if you want to give your only All-Star a chance to have some meaningful AB’s, you better get at least one middle of the order type bat for the lineup.

And since I’m shopping at Walmart and not at Neiman Marcus, I’ll take the best I can feasibly get.

I look at Frazier as a modern day Terry Pendleton. A guy who can bridge to the future and adds depth to the line up and who isn’t going to break the bank. I know a lot of folks want to add a front line starter but the Braves may well have one or two of those on the shelf already.

I say pick the Todd Father up and continue to develop Camargo, Ruiz, and Riley…

And that’s the thing. Even if it isn’t Frazier, adding a 3B starter that can bat cleanup not only charges your lineup, it also improves your bench. And that’s not a knock on Camargo. To the contrary, it simply plays to his strengths and makes the overall team better.

And apparently 3B is the hot topic of the moment. Alan Carpenter of Tomahawk Take posted this last night:

Frazier ranks as MLBTR’s 17th best free agent on the market this Winter, and they projected a new contract for him of 3 years and $33 million. In fairness, $11m per year is probably not a terrible number… unless you have to have all three years.

And to be clear, I don’t want to give him 3 years guaranteed either. 2 with an option I can live with. And even at that I’m probably looking to trade him mid-season 2019.

Carpenter also throws out another player:

Another possibility? Eduardo Nunez, who lacks the power potential of Frazier, but hit well over .300 and has a history of hitting for average… though not a lot else.

Meh. Nunez is not a cleanup hitter. Doesn’t move my meter in the least. If you’re going to do that, might as well go with Camargo.

So unless you’re willing to offer 5 yrs/$85M to Mike Moustakas, and completely block Austin Riley in the process, there isn’t another true power option at 3B unless you go and overpay in a trade to a team that needs pitching. (BTW- I’m still on the Jed Gyorko train, but it apparently isn’t leaving the station.)

I am fairly pessimistic on a deal for Yelich. I’d pay a fair price for him, but I think The Fish will hold out for a serious overpay because they really don’t have to trade him. The name they’ve already thrown out is Ronald Acuna. I’m not sure if that’s the first salvo of negotiation or if it’s the required starting point. But, if that is the starting point, then there really are no negotiations to be done.

It'd make a lot of sense on a shorter deal (probably couldn't get him for 2 years, but that'd be ideal. Even 3 at right price makes sense because he's durable and could be traded. https://t.co/kJGO7qlpz7

So yes, the length of any contract is always a sticking point. Answer, you pay more per year or you spread it out an extra year. I would like to get my next new car for free but I am pretty sure that won’t happen. It is why the GM is paid the big bucks, so he can keep all this sorted out.

And on the gNats and potential trades with the Marlins, I would venture to guess that Victor Robles is high on the Fish’s want list too. That also would be a non starter because the Nationals are just not in the position to pay anyone $500MM, even in overpaid DC, who does Harper think he is anyway, Hilary Clinton?

Sorry about your Dawgs last night, I thought the refs were fly specking UGA but overlooked the same shenanigans perpetrated by Bama. Oh well, there is always next year. After all, I have been waiting eons for Va Tech to finally win a NC.

Still not much news around braves Country, so still more speculating to be done if we’re going to have something to talk about. 😀

Ha! Anyway, here is some interesting information to chew on as we continue to wait for something substantial to happen…

Alan Carpenter at Tomahawk Take posted a fairly detailed piece on what the Braves current payroll appears to be (estimating arb figures). I’ll spare you the details (click here to see his entire piece) and simply quote his conclusion:

I have the Braves’ estimated opening day payroll at $115.2 million. If I read it correctly, Atlanta – according to COTS – spent $133.4 million during 2017. Given that – and the expectation of a bump in the payroll due to increased revenues – I would estimate that Atlanta could have something around $25 million more to spend, should they chose to spend.

My guess is that they will NOT spend $25M more on payroll, but perhaps $10-$15M isn’t unreasonable. How they spend it is still fuel for our hot stove fodder.

Friday is salary-arb figures swap day. #Braves have 4 remaining arb-eligibles, all pitchers: Vizcaino, Folty, Sam Freeman, Dan Winkler. They're projected to make a combined total of about $9M through arb, most of that for Viz (projected $3.7M) and Folty ($2.7M).

Sam Freeman agreed to a 1-year deal for $1.075M yesterday, which is slightly less than the $1.2M he was projected to received through arb. His agreement leaves just 3 Braves remaining arb eligible, those being Folty, Viz, and Winkler. It would not surprise me at all to see each of them come to terms today at some point.

Speaking of Folty, this is a big year for him. He has to prove some consistency and worth this season or he’ll be the next Tommy Hanson. Except with Hanson, he got a longer look because he wasn’t being pushed by a herd of talented youngsters. If Folty blinks too long, he’ll be passed by Fried, Soroka, Allard and Wright before he can say “base on balls”.

Personally, I want Folty to stick. He had a streak last year where he looked poised to become the rotation’s ace, then he suddenly regressed and looked quite average again. If he can ever harness that immense talent, he could become a much needed stabilizing presence in the middle of the rotation.

I was just perusing the team’s expected AAA roster, because I’m afflicted that way, and noticed that there is not currently a CF on the projected squad. It should be noted that many feel Ronald Acuna could start the season there, and he is a true CF, but even if he does it won’t be for long. To my untrained eyes, the organization needs to find some depth at CF for the upper minor league levels. Aside from Acuna, the closest CF we have is 23-yo Ray-Patrick Didder, who should begin the year at AA. By all accounts, Didder’s defense can play in The Show now, but his bat is still not close. And he has never played above high-A. I won’t be surprised to see AA sign a FA closer to spring training after the prices drop. Somebody like journeyman Jaff Decker or Tyler Collins maybe?

Big step back from TJ from a kid that might have been wearing a script “A” last September if his elbow had not exploded in June. New regime will not rush him, especially given the wealth of arms in the stockpile. I’d guess he could make some late season AAA appearances if things stay on track.

Ugh… bad advice from his agent IMO. His inconsistency coupled with the approaching abundance of accomplished arms will work against him. He could win his arb case, but he could also lose the organization in the process. AA has absolutely zero ties to him. As I said earlier, he looks to be morphing into Tommy Hanson V2. Let’s just hope he doesn’t fit the Tommy Hanson profile all the way to the end.

To take that a step further, when I look at the pitchers closest on the way, I have to look a them from the standpoint that they haven’t proven themselves at the major league level yet. But honestly,… has Folty? No, he hasn’t. So in my eyes, they are still on even ground. That said, lets just do some buy<>sell comparisons, shall we? (I mean, what else is there to do on January 12?)

Folty<>Luiz Gohara? Gohara all the way. Duh.
Folty<>Sean Newcomb? Quite similar tracks, but Newcomb has better “stuff” and is LH. I take Newk.
Folty<>Max Fried? By all appearances, Fried looks to have a higher upside. I take Fried.
Folty<>Mike Soroka? Many experts say Soroka has #1 upside. Ceiling aside, he has 4 ML quality pitches with control. Folty does not. No brainer.
Folty<>Kolby Allard? Allard as well has #1 or #2 potential. He also has more pitches and is LH. I want Allard.
Folty<>Lucas Sims? IMO, Sims can be a beast out of the bullpen. Folty doesn’t have the mental makeup to relieve. I’ll keep Sims.

To clarify, the deadline for players to come to agreement on a deal or file their arb figures was 1pm today. Folty was the lone holdout and will be the 1st Braves arb case since Mike Minor in 2015 and just the 2nd in 17 years (Andruw in 2001).

Thoppy has indicated that the Braves will remain a “file and trial” team under his lead, meaning they will no longer negotiate once the 2 sides have filed their respective salary figures, with the exception being that they work out a multi-year deal. And I seriously doubt the Braves are interested in working out a multi-year deal with Folty. My above argument aside, his numbers tell the tale. Even though he had some really good stretches last season, he still finished with a 4.79 ERA, only slightly ahead of his career 4.87 ERA (65 ML starts).

I repeat: he has alot to prove in 2018, or he’ll find himself on the outside looking in… that is if he’s still here.

Yes, I learned from my many years as a union rep/director that you have to know who has the strong cards going in and unless Folty really wants to try his luck elsewhere, this was not the year to do it in, I hope he likes Miami… Yee haa..

Now, having said that. it turns out the two sides were only $100,000 apart. Now that is down right silly. May Folty figures he earned it this winter with all the personal appearance he put in for the Braves. He was the guy as far as I could tell … So you have that, we shall see.

Good morning Stuffville, I finally broke down and watched an NFL football game yesterday, okay, I was bored but watched the Vikings and the Saints… DUH! If you think you folks in Atlanta feel bad about failing on the last play, think about how bummed out Saints fans are. Who goes for an interception when all you need to do is make a tackle? Poor in game situational awareness. Like a ball player going for a home run when they only need to make contact… But, I digress…

It turned cold again…. BAH!

Okay, I know, it is winter but where is all that global warming we had been promised? Only place still surrounded by hot air is still DC.

Things still pretty quiet on the free agent front, looks like everyone is waiting until spring taring to make their assessments and acquisitions. Small movements by the Mets rehiring Jay Bruce and signing Gonzales.

Still quiet on the Marlins front, the longer it goes, the less likely I feel any deal will be made concerning the Braves and Yelich.

Gil, I too am quite disappointed by this so called Global warming….I assume you all didn’t get much winter the year before, I think that’s why it seems so much colder this year…that and it is really cold 😉

If I were a Pirates fan, man would I be mad at what they got back. Shoulda gotten Clint Frasier and some arm, instead of going for 4 guys…
When I read on MLBTR that one reason the Pirates traded for those guys was the number of years they could control them….yawn…yawn, and I am getting too old for this sport. Probably would be better to watch more baseball and read less “baseball” stuff 😛

This is when it’s really hard to remain patient. Would Cutch have helped out the 2018 Braves? Absolutely! Would Longo have helped out the 2018 Braves? No doubt! But long term, they really would not, and the loss of even marginal prospects (not to mention dollars) would be of some detriment even if not alot.

No, the reality is that we will probably have to endure one more difficult season before this aircraft carrier gets turned around. And you know how difficulty it is to turn an aircraft carrier, right?

Unless the return player is on the younger side and still has time to help this team when it’s back on top, I’ll cringe and pass, thanks.

The difference between the Giants and a team like… oh, say… the Braves is that the Giants have no real prospects on the horizon and nothing to build around. Their only hope to tread water over the next few years is to go grab aging talent from other clubs. The problem with that, though, is that they are still behind the Dodgers, D’backs and Rockies in that division, and the young Padres are gaining fast. So while should at least be a more interesting team to watch in 2018, they’ll still be making early vacation plans for October.

Much like the Braves the past couple of years, even though it has been reported the Braves were rebuilding, they had quite a few “past their prime” vets on the roster while waiting for the kids to mature.

So, we anxiously await their arrival… The next Brian McCann, or Marteen Prado, although the Braves may well have the next Marteen Prado on the roster…

Quite a few comments on the defensive prowess of young Cristian Pache but unless he can hit around .250, I don’t see him as a major league player. The Braves already have moved on from possibly the two best defensive players in baseball in Heyward and Simmons because of disappointing bats. Not saying they should have kept Heyward but for sure they should have kept Simba… STUPID, STUPID, STUPID….

Here’s the poop: Pache just turned 19 in November, so he’s still just a kid…. like we seem to be saying alot lately. He’s listed 6’2″ 185 lbs, and has some filling out to do. He was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2015 at age 16 as the #21 rated Int’l prospect.

This is what one Sally League scout said of him last April:

At the dish, Pache hits from a semi open stance and slight crouch. He keeps his hands high and he utilizes a moderate leg kick for timing. His hands stay pretty busy pre-pitch. His swing is linear and has some length to it, but the bat speed is plus and the ball jumps off of his barrel. For an 18 year old he put together some pretty professional at bats in my look. Fouled off some tough pitches, laid off of some tough benders. The hit has the potential to play plus.

Pache is pretty strong already and will get stronger. I put the raw power at 45 right now and that may get to 55 at peak. Potential 16-20 HR player but with current swing plane 8-12 is more likely.

Speed and defense: For a big man Pache can fly, the speed is double plus. I liked his action in CF, good 1st step and the route running is already above average. He displayed a strong arm as well.

Conclusion: Pache is an exciting young player with 5 loud tools on display. We could be looking at a player with the potential to hit 280+, with power in the teens and 25+ SB. With well above average CF defense. That’s a very exciting player.

Then he spent the 2017 at low-A Rome where he slashed .281/.335/.343 with 13 doubles, 8 triples, 60 runs scored and an impressive 32 SB’s in 116 games, all but 2 spent in CF. He bats and throws RH.

While most of the buzz on position players in our system has been around Ronald Acuna (and deservedly so), I’ve also been reading about Pache for a little while. He’s currently the Braves #10 prospect. But to be fair, at #10 he’s behind Ronald Acuna at #1, 7 pitchers at #2-#8, and Austin Riley at #9. Acuna will graduate off the list soon enough, as could a pitcher or 2, and Pache could pass Austin at the next ranking update. So expect him to ascend quickly.

Pache should start 2018 at high-A Florida, but a fast start could earn him a quick promotion to AA. ETA to Atlanta? My guess is that he could get a September callup in 2019 with a real shot at the lineup in 2020, where the Braves could field an OF that boasts 3 real CF’s with Ender in LF, Pache in CF and Acuna in RF.

The expectation within the industry is that the Pirates will work to move Josh Harrison, as well. They've been discussing him with other teams. His contract has club options at $10.5m, $11.5m for 2019, 2020.

Hmmm… 3B option for Thoppy? Contract is perfect for Austin Riley’s development, and he was an All-Star in 2017 slashing .272/.339/.432 with 16 HR’s and 12 SB’s in 128 games, split between 83 at 2B, 49 at 3B, and 9 in the OF. I sure wouldn’t mind it…

… and speaking of Harrison, Ken Rosensource of The Cashletic has this quote attributed to him:

The GM is on record as saying, ‘When we get back to postseason-caliber baseball, we would love our fans to come back out.’ If indeed the team does not expect to contend this year or next, perhaps it would be better for all involved, that I also am traded.

Hmmm… he might not be too happy being traded to a team in the last phase of a rebuild then. I wouldn’t expect to win this year. But next? Well, that’s a horse of a different color.

Braves make a trade for RHP Shane Carle from the Pirates for a player to be named or cash… No corresponding moves made by the Braves as they had room for Carle on the 40 man roster with the release of Adonis Garcia.

Still awaiting the blockbuster trade which brings Yelich to the big A…

Hey Vee, I hope you are enjoying your snow, we got what you might call a nuisance snow. That is, less than 2 inches but cold and just messy enough to require the clearing of grocery shelves everywhere of bread and milk.

So, I am trapped within the confines of my abode by the idea of the steps and ramps being slick…. YUK!

CL, I fear cabin fever sets in rather quickly these days. I can purge my file cabinets only so much before I need to feed the fodder to the burn barrel. If the Braves would finally make the big move we are all anticipating, well, we could blather for days on the pros and cons but we can speculate on prospects on so long. Now, having said that, it is exactly that I am working on for my next blog… SIGH!

You forgot his .339 OBP. Those “low” 47 RBI were the result of batting in the leadoff or #2 spot in 107 of his 128 games played. Ender drove in only 57 in 157 games. We seem to love him, though.

His 3.3 WAR in 2017 would have been 2nd on the Braves to Freddie Freeman’s 4.5, and ahead of Ender Inciarte’s 3.0.

Extrapolate Harrison’s 16 HR, 47 RBI, and 12 SB over 162 games and you get a guy capable of 20/60/15 who gets on base better than once every 3 AB’s, and who has a favorable contract that gives any team that acquires him the power to cut him loose after each of the next 3 seasons.

He plays 4 positions well, including 3B where your best options are a utility guy and Rio Ruiz.

His GM said this week that he’s received more calls about Harrison than he did Cutch this offseason.

V, I’m sorry, we will just have to disagree to agree, err. or vise versa…

You forgot his .339 OBP.
gosh, who could ever forget that? League average is .324. BP’s was .329 (BP also hit 13 HR’s and drove in 60 last year, batting 2nd a fair bit, but he’s OLD at 36 , and won’t be able to find a job in 2018, even after hitting .285, 10 points above his career BA, perhaps off the bench, he’s OLD! )

.339 OBP. (.321 OBP for his career) Players who had higher OBP on the braves, Nick M, FF, Flowers, Suzuki, Ender,…Camargo had a 331 OBP…and he’s 25 now. Josh is going to be 31, and from what I hear/read, WE don’t want to get old guys like that now…the ONLY Good player is a guy in his 20s.

His 3.3 WAR in 2017 would have been 2nd on the Braves to Freddie Freeman’s 4.5, and ahead of Ender Inciarte’s 3.0.

Ok, if ever there was something that showed WAR is as stupid as someone saying Hillary Clinton was the most qualified candidate for President ever….
Do you really think Josh Harrison is a better player in any way, shape or form than Ender?
Who played more games last year?
Who had a higher BA, and OBP?
Who is a better defender?

SIGH!!!!

more old man ranting to follow!!!!! 😛
STAY OFF OF MY LAWN!!!!

Extrapolate Harrison’s 16 HR, 47 RBI, and 12 SB over 162 games and you get a guy capable of 20/60/15 who gets on base better than once every 3 AB’s, and who has a favorable contract that gives any team that acquires him the power to cut him loose after each of the next 3 seasons.

He may be capable of 20/60/15, but of those 3 stats, he has only reached 1 of those, 15 SB’s
in 2015, and 2016, each year he hit….4 HR’s.

He plays 4 positions well, including 3B where your best options are a utility guy and Rio Ruiz.

Josh Harrison IS a utility guy…last 3 seasons, Josh didn’t even get 500 AB’s (but he walked a career high 28 times last year, be still my beating heart!)
While I have never been super high on Ruiz, he won’t turn 24 til May…
You get the KC 3rd baseman, ok…even if he doesn’t duplicate last year HR totals, he’s a real threat, a guy you can put behind FF.
Is Josh your cleanup hitter or 5th hitter?

as for what the Pirates GM said…the dope has traded his top 2 chips and didn’t get anything except several years of control of mediocre players…..Pirates are going to go back to what they sadly have been for decades, a team for other teams to beat up.

anyway, for 3 mil more per season, the braves could have had Jay Bruce ( I know, where would Nick M play, I know, elsewheres!)

who will be available in 2019 IF the braves go looking for arms/outfielders?
seems other teams always seem to have needs too…and all things being equal, players would rather play on winning teams, which I guess the braves won’t be in 2018 either….

V, I’m sorry, we will just have to disagree to agree, err. or vise versa…

That’s cool, but I do think you misunderstand what it is I am advocating…

but he’s OLD at 36

Born July 8, 1987. Age = 30.

for 3 mil more per season, the braves could have had Jay Bruce

I’m looking specifically for a 3B bridge to Austin Riley. That’s it. I’m not looking for a foundational player. Harrison’s unique contract makes him ideal in that situation. Truth is, I’d still rather have Todd Frazier as the 3B bridge, but he’s going to require a 2-3 year guarantee. That makes him more difficult to trade when Riley is ready.

Josh Harrison IS a utility guy

And that’s fine. I want my utility guy, be it Camargo or Harrison, to be my utility guy. And if Camargo actually wins the everyday 3B job in spring training, I still have Harrison as my utility guy (although he doesn’t play SS). I just know my bench was infinitely better last season when that was the case.

Do you really think Josh Harrison is a better player in any way, shape or form than Ender?

I didn’t say that. That’s not what WAR is meant to represent. And I am not a boutique stat guy. But I do think it is at least semi-representative of what it’s meant to show, which is how the guy rates overall at his relative position. And if you don’t think the new wave of GM’s aren’t looking at these figures, you’ve not been watching. That’s exactly what they are doing now. That’s what AA is known for. Most teams have a guy in the front office that does only that. For the Braves, that’s Asst. GM Jason Paré, who left a position in the MIA front office specifically titled Senior Director of Analytics. Like it or not, that’s where we are in 2018.

On a side bar, if you haven’t read the book or seen the movie Moneyball, I highly recommend it. That completely changed my opinion of analytics.

To be clear, I still believe that there is a need for good old fashioned scouting. But I also think that there is merit to these new analytics when used in conjunction with the traditional eye test. They have proven themselves on the field. Those who don’t take it into consideration will fall behind the pack.

Just wait til next year

Well, that’s how it is. Unless they dump every prospect we have to get Yelich and Realmuto, then sign Yu Dravish and Mike Moustakas.

Don’t sweat the 2019 FA possibilities. The Braves will have cash, and alot of it. Money talks. Period. Plus, every player on every team knows what pitching the Braves have arriving this year and next. I’m not worried at all about being shunned.

It is good to have some spirited discussion this AM. I had been feeling lonesome the past couple of days.

Yes, while we continue to be tantalize by the possibility of an outfield which includes Christian Yelich, we must not forget the other obvious needs of the team. 3rd base is a pretty glaring one but having a bat to protect Freddie is an obvious need too, so, getting both in one player could be the answer.

“Acuna the next Trout” Chipper Jones… Whoo, that is some pretty lofty praise there. It is why the Braves would offer Pache and a prime arm for Yelich but might be playing the long game and stand pat. GMs are loath to spend money before it really can pay off. That and this year’s payroll is fairly stout, I know, paying off old debts but it is still an obligation. Thoppy has a boss too and they all have bosses….

Sooooo, looking ahead, the real key will still be pitching. The Braves have some pretty stout arms coming along but I don’t really see that many 200 inning arms in the mix. You still need someone(s) to trudge thru the season so your pen is not worn out by August 1st.

In all of the debate, we have overlooked discussing RHRP Shane Carle other than the brief mention of his acquisition. IMO it’s a nice pickup for basically peanuts. Officially it’s for a PTBNL, but in all likelihood we’ll just repay to PIT the $50K they paid to claim him off waivers from COL just a couple of weeks ago. (He was subsequently DFA’d by PIT on Sunday to help make room for the guys they got back for Gerrit Cole.)

As Bowman and DO’B both pointed out, he’s organizational depth. He’s a guy that has options left so he’ll float back and forth between ATL and Gwinnett as is necessary. Of course, he has every opportunity to win a bullpen job in spring. His MO is that he has a low- to mid-90’s fastball and a splitter. Although they seem to have faded from the landscape, splitters are famous for inducing ground balls, so he may have a future as a specialist.

The move does fill our own 40-man roster, though, so any additional acquisitions will require a roster move. Of course, if it’s of the trade variety, that could take care of itself.

I was talking about BP being old at 36, even though he’s an elite defender, by my eyes…but I am sure some Bill James disciple has a stat that would prove to me my eyes were all wet , so to speak…

It’s a shame everyone and their brother are right handed hitters… BP with Camargo would be perfect, if one of them was a lefty…oh well..

I guess I am an old fashioned guy….GM’s may be all about analytics , which is “fine” but its stupid. Why did Houston win the WS??? based on some stats? positioning of the infielders? No, talent, young talent, and an OLD starter that was better than all of their young starters…

WAR just rubs me the wrong way…
Oh, I came across this last night…OBP, it’s important right? its all that matters with hitters it seems these days (well that and HR’s a guy who hit .242 but had a .350 OBP and 30 HRs with 72 RBI’s is a good hitter now 🙄 ) but check on OBP over say, the last 25 years.
OBP has been at it’s lowest the past 6-7 years, why is that???

As for the 40 man issue, I see that problem being taken care of with one well timed trade, pretty sure any player traded for would require a couple of pitchers already being carried on the 40 man roster, that and the ability to remove players on the DL from the count.

Currently, there are 28 pitchers being carried on the Braves 40 man roster. That is a ton….

VIDEO: Here's a look at new #Braves reliever Shane Carle, who will come to spring training to vie for a bullpen spot. Likely providing some organizational depth at AAA @GoStripers in 2018. https://t.co/I5S5gjehNY

OBP is down because K’s are up…. from 5.8 per 9 IP in 1993 to 8.25 per 9 IP in 2017. And why is that? Because chicks dig the long ball.

And that is exactly why I value a guy who produces a decent OBP.

When a guy puts the ball in play, he has a chance of getting on base, or at worst, driving a guy in while making an out. When he K’s, he just turns 180 degrees and walks back to the dugout while everything in the game remains static except that his team now has an additional out.

Here’s another reason I value OBP. The higher a team’s overall OBP, the less “clean” innings the opposing pitchers enjoy. And even old fashioned baseball observation shows that pitchers face more stress and roll up higher pitch counts with runners on base.

Did we note yet that MLB.com is publishing a little at a time their updated prospect rankings, and that the LHP rankings came out a couple of days ago? The Braves boast 3 of the top 10 in Luis Gohara (4), Kolby Allard (7) and Max Fried (10).

It should be noted also that Sean Newcomb was in this same Top 10 at this time last year, but has graduated into the Braves rotation for 2018.

Is it possible that the Braves could trot out a rotation in 2019 that has all 4? Sure it is. But then what of Julio? Folty? And what of the guy who may be better than all of them Mike Soroka? And where do you put Kyle Wright, Ian Anderson, and Joey Wentz in 2020? The possibility of an embarrassment of riches is truly tantalizing. Of course, these guys have to pan out. But I like our chances. 🙂

So yes, Gil… as you said, *”Looking ahead, the real key will still be pitching.”

All very true , but …I feel like WAR = Metric system. I think you are pretty darned close to my age…remember how all of the sudden they were trying to get us on that system cuz…it was used worldwide, and it was based on REAL measurements…
it’s another weird way to tell the same tale….

I would guess that “WAR” is calculated somehow by combining all those stats plus throwing in defensive stats and then comparing said numbers against a league average. Sounds pretty complicated and I would guess some geek in a basement came up with it for the purpose of fantasy baseball.

The reason they call it fantasy baseball is because they never bother with stats on defense. All based on offense and pitching stats…. bah…

I’ll stick to the old fashion eye test, I can tell when an amazing play is made, I don’t need a computer to tell me and pretty much can see if one home is longer that another but I know the count the same.

I would guess some geek in a basement came up with it for the purpose of fantasy baseball.

I encourage you to read the book or see the movie Moneyball. It’s enlightening. And admittedly, it has changed my attitude (correct use of tude) somewhat with regard to analytics.

I think Ber made the perfect metaphor. It’s alot like the metric system. It’s weird, and it’s clunky, and it’s not what we’re accustomed to. But it does measure much of the same things, just with a different ruler.

As to WAR specifically, here is the definition from Fangraphs, the mecca of Sabermetrics.

Wins Above Replacement (WAR) is an attempt by the sabermetric baseball community to summarize a player’s total contributions to their team in one statistic. You should always use more than one metric at a time when evaluating players, but WAR is all-inclusive and provides a useful reference point for comparing players. WAR offers an estimate to answer the question, “If this player got injured and their team had to replace them with a freely available minor leaguer or a AAAA player from their bench, how much value would the team be losing?” This value is expressed in a wins format, so we could say that Player X is worth +6.3 wins to their team while Player Y is only worth +3.5 wins, which means it is highly likely that Player X has been more valuable than Player Y.

WAR is not meant to be a perfectly precise indicator of a player’s contribution, but rather an estimate of their value to date. Given the imperfections of some of the available data and the assumptions made to calculate other components, WAR works best as an approximation. A 6 WAR player might be worth between 5.0 and 7.0 WAR, but it is pretty safe to say they are at least an All-Star level player and potentially an MVP.

While WAR is not as complicated as some might think, it does require a good bit of information to calculate and understand. [HERE] you can find general information about WAR and links to specific information about position players and pitchers, as WAR is obviously calculated differently for each.

I also know the A’s have not been a contending team for a very long time.

When the A’s made their hay on the backs of a handful of fledgling analytics geeks merged into one movie character Peter Brand, they were finding value in players that other GM’s and front offices were overlooking. To a certain degree, that playing field has been leveled and front offices are no longer overlooking those productive if not flashy players. The A’s certainly do not have the corner market in that arena now and have to compete for the same players that the rest of the league is fighting for. In short, everybody else caught up with them.

But again, I feel I need to clarify that I am not hitching my wagon to the analytics horse. I still respect and appreciate the good old scouting eye and gut. And I still feel that is where it begins for prospects especially. But there are measurable aspects in every player’s game that should not be overlooked. And I think the Braves front office is a great example of how that will work in tandem, as they have put one of the best scouting groups back together again (after Frank Wren ran them all off) to work in concert with Thoppy’s analytics department.

When Thoppy was introduced back in December, he was quoted as saying,“[Enhanced analytics] was eye-opening for me. It’s not a panacea for anything. Most of all, it’s up to the player. (But) we’re not doing our job if we’re not doing everything we can to provide them the resources to improve their performance.

“There was a philosophy [with the Dodgers] to get the maximum you could out of every single player. It’s not always going to work, but if we can make these guys better, whether it be one per cent or five percent, we’re going to try. Where that leads? It doesn’t always work. But it can only help, the more assets it creates for us.

“We’ll provide information as a front office. At the end of the day, [Brian Snitker] is going to manage the game, and it’s up to him what he wants to apply and what he doesn’t want to apply.”

To which Snit added, “It’s not going to be negative stuff to these guys, either. It’s going to be things that can help them to get better, and it will be up to them what they want to grab hold of and used. It’s going to be good for them. It’s going to give them another avenue to try and to improve their game. So I think they’re going to like it.”

So while the fantasy geeks churn out all their data to try to be basement GM’s and criticize on social media every move that an experienced and paid professional makes, those professionals are using their data to improve the players they have, as well as seeking players they feel have great potential.

There are some measurable things like “fast twitch muscles”, “eye sight” (brown eyes vs blue eyes) to predict ability to see the ball best in day light or night time etc that is all put down on paper and eventually ends up in someone’s data base but first, they have to be seen by somebody so that information can be gathered. One of the stories from “Moneyball” was the kid who was passed over because he did not have a pretty girlfriend, it was translated as him having low self esteem…

So, it is why so much time is spent mining the Caribbean and South America. You have to also look where other people aren’t. Andrew Jones anyone? How many ball players have come from that tiny island since? Not just good ballplayers but great ballplayers…

So yes, Josh Harrison might be a short term fix but I don’t think the Braves will make that play quite yet, I think they want to see how their pitching pans out. That and they will have money next year to make a splash.

Let’s take a step back and get some perspective on where we are right now.

We’re in the 3rd week of January, and less than 4 weeks until P&CR. Overall there has been very little movement in the league on signing FA’s (to which they are starting to whisper the “C” word, which we’ll address later) and very little movement in shaping a competitive 2018 Braves roster. As we sit today on January 19, our roster looks to be something resembling this:

This assumes, of course, that the front office is choosing to let Acuna start his ML career out of the gate. This also assumes that Sean Newcomb wins the 5th starter job from Max Fried, which is far from a done deal.

But my gut tells me that we won’t start the season this way, and I don’t really think we’ll start spring training this way. My gut says there is still a relatively major move yet to be made.

I think Thoppy will still address 3B, even though we all love Johan and would like to see him get a shot.

Guys i see that could be made available in trade are:
*Johan. If the return is great enough. Culberson is a very capable utility IF, thus Johan’s value could be best utilized acquiring a greater need.
*Lane Adams. If the RH Acuna is to be the everyday RF, then Preston Tucker’s LH bat makes more sense off the bench. And Acuna can play CF behind Ender, so that’s not a consideration.
*Scott Kazmir. The Braves took him to balance the ledger sheet in the trade, but they’d prefer he go somewhere else, giviing their younger pitchers opportunities in the bullpen.
*Lucas Sims. He’s a pitcher still on the upswing, but far down the list of prospects that include Newcomb, Fried, Soroka, Allard, etc.

There are others, but those stick out to me. In the right deal, one or more of those guys could be sent elsewhere.

As I said, my gut tells me there is a trade still in the offing… probably before we flip the calendar to February. But maybe not until closer to P&CR. I think the FA logjam has to loosen and the market has to start fleshing out first. Then teams will know what is surplus and what is need. Once the first big dog signs, the cold stove should start heating up. Yu Darvish to MIN? JD Martinez to BOS? Eric Hosmer to SDP? It could happen any day now…

Yes, so many pitchers and a real need by the Marlins for pitching leads me to believe that even though the Marlins have an ask for Acuna, they would be delighted to get one front line pitcher or a couple of solid arms for Yelich, Now, that is not all they will want but that is the real crux of the matter.

So… which pitcher(s( do you give up? One will be one of the Braves top ten, who will be a MLB top ten… Plus a solid bullpen arm, maybe someone like Lindgrem. Then a couple of lower level ( A) prospects) and possibly Nick Markakis with the Braves send back some money to pay at least half his salary.

On Markakis… If the Braves acquire Yelich, Markakis will go somewhere for a low level prospect and reduce salary. I will be really surprised if Nick breaks camp with the Braves. Look for Baltimore to take him back… for a song…

I asked an MLB executive what he expects on the free agent and trade markets from here. "My latest guess is a consistent trickle for the next few weeks, and then a mad rush the week before spring training,'' he said. That pretty much summarizes the offseason. #consistenttrickle

I do think there’s still a decent chance the Braves will add a hitter with power who could bat behind Freddie Freeman in 2018, but at this point it seems more likely from people I’ve talked to that it would come at third base if they could sign a free agent to a short-term deal. In this glacier-slow free-agent market, would someone like Todd Frazier — 102 homers over past three seasons — perhaps accept a two-year deal instead of three or four years that most had originally assumed he’d command?

Stay tuned. If that happens, I could see the Braves making a push for him or another short-term commitment. But I still wouldn’t expect to see the Braves go more than two years – if that – for a free-agent third basemen because they don’t want to block Austin Riley, who could be ready during the 2019 season. And the Braves seem prepared to go with Johan Camargo and/or Rio Ruiz at third base this season rather than do something they aren’t comfortable doing to fill the spot.

What it does not say in the toxicologist report is the levels of those drugs. Pretty odd to have both uppers(amphetamines) and downers (insomnia) drug. It only smears his reputation, and gives the life insurance company an excuse not to pay…

Braves
72-90 in 2017
There’s so much talent on the Major League roster and in the Minor League pipeline that a huge turnaround is inevitable. Whether that happens in 2018 or ’19 is the question. Progress this season could depend on three factors: the timetable for 20-year-old outfielder Ronald Acuna, a franchise-changing player; the development of infielders Dansby Swanson and Ozzie Albies; and the emergence of all that young pitching in the Minors. Hiring Alex Anthopoulos to run baseball operations was a brilliant move. In short, this is a great time to be a Braves fan.

Modest proposal: Sign free-agent third baseman Todd Frazier. He would bring production at the position and he would also provide a role model for the young guys as they try to figure things out. And if they want to make a bit more of a splash, Mike Moustakas is still out there to fill their void at third.

Good morning Stuffville, I guess the biggest news in all things Braves is the designation of Ronald Acuna as the number one prospect in baseball by Baseball America. Also the inclusion of a total of 8 Braves in the top 100. Pretty stout…

Hiring Alex Anthopoulos to run baseball operations was a brilliant move.

Blessing in disguise? I know that the loss of all those int’l prospects will have long raging effects, but could cutting ties now with the Coppy that was (as opposed to the Coppy we thought we knew) balance it out in the long run? Same for John Hart? Maybe… just maybe.

Yes, the Marlins had the gall to request baseball’s top prospect Ronald Acuna in Christian Yelich talks. But word is, so has everyone else who has a top young established MLB player/star. Besides, it only takes a second to ask. And a second to reject.

Which is why I think Pache will be the ultimate trade chip if it were to happen. I would trade Pache if it meant getting Yelich but if Yelich goes to the Pades, well, so be it. It’s something when you can move an All-star, gold glove winning outfielder to left field.

Poking around on Todd Frazier, I found this from late December, from Jerry Crasnick:

Though Todd Frazier has played primarily third base in his career, Frazier has expressed a willingness to move around the diamond in an effort to increase his market. Frazier has experience at first base in the Majors, and he’s willing to play some corner outfield as well. Frazier did log nearly 1000 minor league innings at shortstop, though, and there have been previous reports that some clubs believe Frazier can be an occasional option at second base as well. Though Frazier doesn’t have much big league experience elsewhere on the diamond, he’s been long been a plus defender at third base.

Well, obviously the Braves would want him to play 3B. But his potential versatility certainly doesn’t hurt anything, especially if he could man LF without embarrassing himself. And the fact that he could back up 1B is a big plus in my book. Last season when the unthinkable happened, the Braves were forced to go outside the organization to get by at 1B for a couple months. Frazier could provide great insurance against a repeat of that scenario.

Yes Vee, Frazier could answer a lot of Braves’ questions. So, a guy who would want to sign for 3 plus years but might well sign for 2 with a healthy buy out. While Camargo could well man the hot corner, saving money would be the only reason I could see for the Braves to go that route.

Thoppy appears to be a guy who holds his cards pretty close to the vest. I suspect we will not know anything afoot until after the ink has dried and the physicals are complete. I guess it is only fair to mention that while taking on Frazier would not break the bank, the Bravos are still having to pony up some heavy coin this year for a guy who will be playing first base for the Mets.

Liberty is still a publicly traded company so a profit is still expected by the stock holders.

I guess it is only fair to mention that while taking on Frazier would not break the bank, the Bravos are still having to pony up some heavy coin this year for a guy who will be playing first base for the Mets

As currently constituted, the Braves 25-man roster, making fair and educated estimates for the yet-to-be determined arb and pre-arb salaries, looks to be right about $116.5M including the aforementioned $22,312,000 dead money and the -$6,750,000 owed back to us from other teams. The Braves ended 2017 with about $120M in payroll. So as it currently stands, even owing AGon his coin, the Braves are still at a lower payroll figure than the one they finished 2017 at… and Terry McGuirk has promised an increase for 2018.

Why would he make such a promise? Well, first he was trying to shed a little positivity while still dealing with the bad press of Coppy-gate. Second, they can actually afford it. While Battery Park is still not completely filled out, it exceeded expectations for 2017 and has already provided an infusion of cash back to the organization that at least partially is supposed to be funneled back into the team on the field.

I say all that to say this: there is money still to be spent. As to how much they have to spend and how wiling they are to spend it… well, that’s yet to be determined. But being cash strapped is simply not the case.

Thoppy appears to be a guy who holds his cards pretty close to the vest.

No question about that. By all appearances, most GM’s, Thoppy included, are waiting for the cascade to begin. Then they’ll wade into the waters and see what kind of fish they can land. The prevailing thought is that if the market drags into February, guys like Frazier that are looking for 3 or more years will take a step back and accept more money over shorter terms. For Frazier, that probably means taking 2 yrs/$25M with an option instead of 3 yrs/$33M. And that’s what Thoppy is waiting for.

I was checking out MLB.com’s latest rankings that were just released, this time for 3B. Our very own Austin Riley checks in as their No. 6 ranked 3B prospect. That’s no big surprise… or even news, really. But there was something mentioned at the end of their assessment video that stuck deep in my mind. It’s even something I have never heard before. The narrator said this:

“Riley also made huge strides in his defense at third, and there are no longer concerns about his ability to stay at the hot corner where his plus arm has always played well. He runs better than people might think at first glance, and some feel his athleticism would allow him to move to left field if there were more of a need and someone blocking him in Atlanta.“

Wait a minute… that’s a game changer right there. How many times this offseason have we been linked to various 3B, only to be rebuffed by the statement that the Braves won’t block Austin Riley? But what if they were to go get a bona fide established 3B, then move Riley to LF for the remainder of his minor league development? Do we have an exciting prospect lined up for LF in the near future? Not that I’m aware of. The next big OF is probably Cristian Pache, who is a natural CF and still several years away.

To be clear, I am not advocating a position change for Riley as he may actually be the guy to capably fill the team’s 3B void for the first time since Chipper retired. But I do believe we can no longer be held hostage at the hot corner by just the potential of a prospect, either.

“Atlanta has six pitchers — Kolby Allard, Kyle Wright, Mike Soroka, Ian Anderson, Luiz Gohara and Joey Wentz — listed among MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects. Anderson and Wentz are the only members of this group who likely won’t be considered candidates for the Braves’ rotation this year.”

Not only is that a WOW statement, it also reinforces why you can trade one to get OF Clint Frazier. Why Frazier? For one, he’s ML ready right now. He made enough appearances last season that the former top prospect can no longer be considered a prospect, but the Yanks still have 5 OF ahead of him in Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks and Jacoby Ellsbury. He’s a gamer who will run through walls for you. Consider him a Bryce Harper “light”, who may not ever lead the league in AVG, but would be the power bat that could protect Freddie in the lineup… something we currently do not have.

Adding 2 Fraziers, Clint and Todd, would be the moves that could push us into Wild Card contention this season.

Gil, how about Julio Teheran and Jacob Lindgren for Clint Frazier? That would retain all the prospects while opening up a spot in the rotation for an additional one (or Scott Kazmir) and a bullpen spot for Lucas Sims (or Scott Kazmir).

That said, I’m sure the Yanks would demand one of the prospects in any deal. Can’t blame them, either.

“If Acuna stays in center and maxes out his power, he’s going to be among the best players in baseball, with a Mike Trout-ish profile. Even if Acuna hits “only” about 20 homers a year, it’ll come with 40-50 doubles, huge contact rates and solid OBPs” Kieth Law.. Pretty lofty expectations..

On Frazier, It;s always a roll of the dice when making a trade. If we were talking 2016 Julio, I would say no but 2017 Julio…. No brainer…

The Cubs made a somewhat under-the-radar move yesterday by signing backup catcher Chris Gimenez. So what does this have to do with the price of tea in China? Well, it might affect the price of something in Japan.

It was revealed yesterday that the Cubs are also in talks with FA P Yu Darvish, who is considered the top P available. Isn’t it interesting that Gimenez is a close friend of Darvish? That’s right… Gimenez caught Darvish in Texas.

Now Braves…

The Cubs inked Gimenez to a 2-year deal, making him the expected backup to starter Willson Contreras. But the former expected backup is top C prospect Victor Caratini, a Braves draftee traded to CHI in 2014 for LHP James Russell and bad penny Emilio Bonifacio. Caratini is MLB.com’s #10 catching prospect, ahead of the Braves’ Alex Jackson who did not make the top 10.

Caratini made his ML debut last year and is ML ready. Given Gimenez inked a 2-year pact, does that make Caratini available for trade?

*There’s a pretty good argument,. . .(the Braves) should consider accelerating their timeline . . . with the right moves . . . Atlanta could assemble a winning team (this year) . . .the Braves’ depth chart reveals three clear positional holes: one in left field . . . one in right field . . .(and) one at third base.”

It’s easy to assume they’ll take care of RF with uber-prospect Ronald Acuna. They could take care of 3B with the stroke of a pen. We’ve talked about LF a little bit this morning. Can’t we make this happen?

The #Dbacks sign veteran pitcher Kris Medlen to Minor league contract with spring training invite. He will earn $1.1 million if he returns to the big leagues and can opt out if not on 40-man roster by March 27

While I am by no means a fan of the Fathers, I am a huge Kris Medlen fan. I hope he makes it back to the Show in any capacity. I know he has not forgotten how to pitch, it is a simple case of adjusting his mechanics to compensate for the medicos going in and mucking about his UCL…

His and Beachy’s reinjuries are a classic example of trying to push a player to return sooner than is reasonable to expect. 18 to 24 months has always been the gold standard on return from TJ and even that is not a return to pre TJ performance. 3 years in more in line and that in itself is only if everything falls perfectly into place.

6th best 3rd base prospect in baseball? Honestly, I know “they” all rarely always right, but should be so worried (I know V, I saw that he could move to lf, honest! 😉 ) about blocking him , whether he stayed there or not…

I think my thing with blocking Riley or not is simply that finding 3B, especially a long term 3B, is alot more difficult than finding a LF. Maybe I’m just a little influenced by all the Chipper Jones talk leading up to his official HOF announcement today. But I’m way over watching a revolving door at 3B. Juan Francisco? Chris Johnson? Alberto Callaspo? Hector Olivera? Adonis Garcia? Kelly Johnson? Gordon Beckham? Aye aye aye…

… and that’s just since 2013.

Didn’t Frank Wren realize that Chipper wold actually have to retire at some point? You’d think he might – MIGHT – have tried to have a viable replacement lined up somewhere.

Ugh. Frank Wren. The first bad ingredient in a bad recipe for success.

And of course, the season opener is March 29, 4:10 PM, at STP vs. the Philthies.

The early schedule is kind of weird…

We open with 6 games at home vs. PHI and WAS, then fly to COL for 3, then fly back to WAS for 3, then over to CHI for 3, then back home to host PHI again. That’s some early criss-crossing.

Something else to note, 12 of the first 15 games are against 2017 playoff teams. But after that, 8 straight series against non-playoff teams. Perhaps if we can just hang tough over the first 2 weeks, we can look fairly respectable heading into June.

Very funny. Speaking of Aaron Blair, I read a piece yesterday that opined that a move to the bullpen is the correct career answer for Blair. Says his plus curveball could play quite well one inning at a time. Whether or not that’s true, one thing is for sure, and that’s the fact that he will not be a part of a future starting rotation in Atlanta.

We open with 6 games at home vs. PHI and WAS, then fly to COL for 3, then fly back to WAS for 3, then over to CHI for 3, then back home to host PHI again. That’s some early criss-crossing.

Wow….
I thought I heard they got rid of the nitwits that put together previous schedules in previous years! I would LOVE a chance to be paid whatever no doubt a large group of folks were paid, to create this mess…
I bet if you gave me a month or two , I could come up with a half decent schedule, which…if you graded on a recent curve would = awesome schedule 😛

Chipper won the MVP Award in 1999, in large part because he killed the Mets, the team the Braves were battling for the NL East title. He hit .400 with seven home runs and 16 RBIs in 12 games against them, and in late September, with the Braves leading the division by one game, Chipper hit four home runs in three games as the Braves swept the series. In the first game, he hit two home runs in a 2-1 victory. We couldn’t find that video, so here’s Chipper introducing himself to the world with two home runs in his first postseason game. He’d play in 92 more.

Of all Chipper’s impressive numbers that were posted over and over again yesterday, the one that is my favorite is 1… the number of teams he played for. I hate that the Braves could not have extended the same good judgment to Tom Glavine and John Smoltz, both of whom should have been lifetime Braves also.

But I digress…

Chipper is truly an all-time great. He is well deserving of every accolade that is coming his way this week and beyond. He not only played the game as skillfully as the game’s greats, he represented the Braves in a manner that is HOF worthy as well.

Johan is trying to make a case for the full time gig at 3B. But before we get too giddy, let’s not pretend that he’s facing ML level pitching in the DR. I don’t think any ML manager is going to point to his name on the lineup card and tell his pitcher, “Don’t let this guy beat you.”

On a completely separate topic from all the current market and HOF chatter…

I think we mentioned this a little while back, but I think it’s worthy for a little more discussion. Would anybody else get their feelings hurt is Ozzie got some time at SS during spring, with Dansby getting some innings himself at 2B?

I think Dansby has alot of natural talent, but doesn’t look quite as smooth. he also leaves alot of routine plays on the field. Ozzie on the other hand seems to be a little more of the typical DR type SS, with greater range and quickness.

Maybe I’m wrong. I remember when they were both coming up in the system together I felt that Dansby could profile better as a 2B… a Chase Utley type if you will. I still feel that’s his best comp, even if he did slump mightily last season.

I’d just like to see each of them get a look during spring just to evaluate their potential. It’s a new era with a new sheriff in town. All old bets are off the table.

With the new sheriff comes a new posse’ and someone who is not wedded to the idea of having to make a trade look better than it was. After all, the Braves were not the team to make Dansby 1-1 in the draft.

Just put the best nine guys on the field and it should all work out. I understand that SS is a higher profile position but we fans also know that playing second base is not for the weak at heart either.

All those reps up the middle simply showed that Dansby was considered more ML ready at the time, so, put the best defender at SS and let the games begin.

Let me be clear… I’m not panning Dansby at all. I think his struggles last season were a slump – a sophomore slump if you will. I fully expect him to bounce back and be the player we all expect him to be. I think he’ll be a solid defender, and a guy who will hit near .300 with alot of doubles and moderate power. The guy is a gamer. He has the “it” that it takes to succeed. I’m not worried about him.

But as Gil said: put the best defender at SS.

The key to success for the Braves is not anything new. It starts with good young pitching and settles in with top notch solid defense behind them. I personally don’t care who plays where as long as the recipe works.

To everyone in Pierson and Jax, Fl and to all of Braves Country no matter where u might live, WE did it!Thank you so much for all the years of support and let’s ALL enjoy this ride together. So blessed to go in with THIS class. HOF players and HOF people as well. Congrats fellas

I applaud MIL for going all in to make 2018 their year. Very bold moves. Boy they gave up a good prospect in Lewis Brinson, not to mention the 3 others. That’s a high price. Brinson was MLB’s #13 overall prospect. But they are going for it all in 2018 and I love it. I hope they get the pitcher they’re looking for. I’d love to see that dogfight in the NL Central.

As I understand it, when teams inquired on Yelich, the Marlins started with the inquiring team’s top prospect, then added on from there. Of course, with ATL that was baseball’s #1 overall prospect Ronald Acuna. And that was a non-starter. And while Brinson is not Acuna, he’s still very good. The Fish got what they needed to get for a guy of Yelich’s pedigree. The future of Brinson should help ease a little of the sting for the fans losing all their stars. A little… just a little.

But from the Braves standpoint, they were right not to engage with Acuna. Most experts, whomever they may be, feel that Acuna could surpass Yelich’s level by his second year anyway. I am not going to argue that point either way, but on the day after we celebrated the HOF career of one of our best home grown products ever, I’m not so inclined to give up my current system’s star.

Now as I understand it, they’re asking WAS for Victor Robles – baseball’s #3 overall prospect – as the starter in talks for JT Realmuto. And I have to admit, if they can get Robles, they might actually be onto something. Building the next generation around Brinson and Robles would be a major shot in the arm for their rebuild.

The flip side is that if WAS were to make that deal, including Robles and whomever else it would take, they might plug their biggest hole but their system would become pretty much fallow (FOB?) and they’ll become very old within a short time.

As much as I like to play GM on this blog, I ‘m sure glad I don’t have the job as a full time gig. I can’t imagine how those guy’s sleep…

In a different bed most every night with their go bag packed for when they are fired….

Yes, it appears the Brew Crew is going for it. It is a good time for them to make a move with St Louis rebuilding a bit and the Pirates in full tear down mode. That only leaves the Cubs and the Reds and well, that only leaves the Cubs…..

I don’t see the Nats giving up Robles. Not with Harper being iffy next year. They would trade Michael A. Taylor before Robles. Sure, they need a catcher better than the ones they have but not that badly.

They do have another young outfielder behind Robles who is pretty stout.

Hmmm… I don’t remember the Braves inking Jaff Decker to a minor league deal, but I do remember predicting such a deal back on January 12 citing a dearth of CF’s at AAA Gwinnett.

I won’t be surprised to see AA sign a FA closer to spring training after the prices drop. Somebody like journeyman Jaff Decker or Tyler Collins maybe… specifically on a minor league deal. Don’t want to burn a 40-man roster spot on him.

And there is absolutely no news of that signing anywhere that I can find.

(Cristian) Pache is a former amateur free-agent signing considered one of the best defensive players in the minors, boasting a MLB-quality glove in center field at 19 years old. He will be the youngest player in Atlanta’s (Spring Training) camp.

As we’ve discussed, he’s the next non-pitcher in the Braves system to keep your eyes on. He is said to “have helium”, meaning he’s rising fast in the Braves prospect hierarchy.

As [Freddie] Freeman looks toward the upcoming season, he counts himself among the many who are eagerly looking forward to the arrival of [Ronald] Acuna, ranked as the club’s No. 1 prospect by MLB Pipeline, who may have to spend a few more weeks with Triple-A Gwinnett before experiencing his much-anticipated big league debut.

“We don’t have that big right-handed bat until you know who comes along,” Freeman said. “Hopefully, he makes an impact right away. We’re going to have our ups and downs with him. It’s going to be his first year learning the system, learning the game and how people will make adjustments to him. But hopefully, he can be that guy and he’s the next Aaron Judge, where he comes in and makes an impact right away. I’ve heard such amazing things about him. It’s going to be good. Hopefully, he can push his way in a lot quicker [than currently expected].”

On one hand, why would you burn a year of contractual control for the sake of 3-4 weeks in a year that in all likelihood will be viewed a success if you reach .500?

On the other hand, if he’s the player everyone expects him to be, wouldn’t the Braves look to lock him up to a multi-year deal before he gets too deep into arb anyway? And if he’s (God forbid), Jason Heyward 2.0, then again, are we worried about him leaving the organization 1 year early?

Of course, my bets go to him being a star, thus the team will surely look to lock him up as he enters his arb years. Heck… they did it last year with Ender Inciarte. Wouldn’t they do the same with The Answer To Everything? So what’s the harm in starting his clock on March 29 instead of April 29?

Still the popular opinion. Not a dis on Johan. In fact, I’m sure he – not to mention Rio – will get every opportunity to win the everyday job. But if we’re honest, we know we have a power shortage in the roster. A legitimate power bat… say, 27 HR’s and a .428 slugging percentage… would make a dramatic improvement in the lineup, not only with the added pop, but with the way it would protect Freddie in the order as well.

Don’t get caught up in batting averages as a gauge for a power hitter, either. The 30+ HR, .300 hitters are few and far between. Jay Bruce just cashed in a big payday with NYM with a .254 AVG. But his 36 HR’s spoke loudly.

One would think Ozzie Albies would be a better option as a lead off hitter over Ender given his speed but their is more to stealing bases than raw speed. The other consideration is taking the bat out of the hands of your best hitter unless you have a strong bat Freddie.

When we look at the Braves the past 5 or 6 years, getting on base has not been a huge problem, getting guys home has been.

#Braves catcher Tyler Flowers was ranked 9th in MLB Network's Top 10 Catchers Right Now. He was between No. 8 Yadier Molina and No. 10 Robinson Chirinos (Rangers). For those wondering, Realmuto was 5th.

“Ultimately, we may have to make the decision to move some of these guys because I don’t think you’re coming to the ballpark for us to tell you how good Gwinnett is and Rome is. We love the affiliates. But that’s not what this is about. I learned early on that the 25 guys on the field drive the whole organization. They drive the bus. We’re the Atlanta Braves. The major league team is what runs this whole place. Let’s be real. We’re not here to be ranked No. 1 in Baseball America.”

You may or may not have a 100% sure thing in-house at 3B with Johan Camargo, but you do at least have a player that performed at a ML level in 2017. Is he a better bet for 2018 than some of the young pitchers we’re talking about counting on?

I love Max Fried, but is he ready? Are we rushing him? Same can be said for Sean Newcomb. (Maybe even Luiz Gohara, except I truly think he can dominate hitters now.)

My point is this…

If we theoretically have $15M to spend, might we get better overall results in 2018 by obtaining a starting pitcher over a 3B?

You never want to block anyone, but you can always trade good pitching if the youngsters are ready. Always. Maybe we need to buy low on Alex Cobb or Lance Lynn and take a chance that Camargo gives us at least what we got from him in 2017.

I’m not necessarily advocating this avenue, but it is worth considering. Just tossing it out for discussion…

I suspect the Braves have been in touch with Frazier’s agent. I would suspect it is a matter of haggling over price. That and Frazier may well be looking to play on a winning team. You just never really know what is peculating behind the scenes anymore. It is not as if 29 other GMs don’t know the Braves are in the market for a third baseman.

Yes, it might be too much to expect a full season of lights out pitching from the Braves young studs but it has happened before. Just not for an entire season, the fade usually begins after the all star break.

Thoughts from the Peanut Gallery of Ignorance: wonder if Frazier might consider “being the guy” who leads the Braves back to the front lines again. It’s easy to see there’s a ton of young talent available, and surely he’s heard of Acuna……. I know nothing about TF so I don’t know what kind of person he is, but to be Chipper’s successor and potentially “lead” the team back to prominence has to be worth at least a moment’s thought. I’ll step back into the shadows now….. 😀

On the amount of available money for this year, unless the Braves can dump part of Markais’ salary, I just don’t see any other place where the Braves can move money. Julio maybe but that does nothing to help the Braves pitching troubles.

So, maybe the Braves look for some deal for a third baseman via a trade or even just roll with what they have knowing they will have a lot of room next season with bocu money off the books.

I have seen over and over people comparing the Braves / Ronald Acuña to the Cubs / Kris Bryant, but I think they are very different scenarios.

For one, Acuña just turned 20 years old last month and was signed as a FA out of Venezuela at age 16. He’s played exactly 111 games above A level – 54 at AAA, 57 at AA – all in the same season, last year.

Bryant was the 2nd overall pick in the 2013 draft at age 21 after 3 seasons of college baseball at the University of San Diego. He then played 138 games split between AA and AAA in 2014 before the infamous 2015 season when he was brought up to the big club about 3 weeks into their season at age 23.

Make no mistake… Bryant was a seasoned ballplayer by the time he made his Major League debut. As much as we’ve all heard and read about Acuña, he’s still a kid… and a kid with very little experience at the game’s highest levels. Naturally we are all encouraged at the way he dominated the AFL this past Oct-Nov. And we should be. He has all the tools to be a star… a super star if you believe this guy named Chipper.

But let’s not rush him just because we’re impatient.

I want to win in 2018 as much as anybody. I want some new excitement to re-inflate my hopes after 3 long years of rebuilding. But I don’t want to rush a little bit of individual excitement at the cost of long term success. Nope… I don’t like it.

I’ll trust the powers that be that they can balance the “25 guys on the field driving the bus” and the finished product of a top prospect.

I'm very aware that my opinion has no weight to it, but I personally would like to see Johan Camargo and Rio Ruiz get full shots at playing 3B for the @Braves in '18. I wouldn't spend $/assets to acquire another 3B right now. #2cents

I am understanding this sentiment to a degree. Still think we need legitimate power somewhere besides just Freddie. But I get it.

Also, I’m not on board with this philosophy just to save $. If we aren’t going to spend it on improving the offense, then it should be spent improving pitching. And I think I would be OK with that if the pitcher is an impact pitcher. And for $15M, he should be. But just to save $? No. Not acceptable,

As far as the in house options at 3rd base for the Braves, I think a lot of eyes will be on Camargo and Ruiz during spring training to see if they will be viable options. Camago has probably had his name written in ink as far as the 25 man roster goes but a really solid spring could go a long ways in impressing Thoppy. In fact, rather than over pay right now with the thinking that the Braves are not going to challenge the gNats this season (pitching depth just not there yet) He is keeping his powder dry just in case other opportunities present themselves.

Now, with all the pitching depth the Braves have in the minors, most are still not major league ready. So, while they are prized as trade pieces, they are not yet being counted on to get the Braves to the promised land this season.

Now, in bigger news, the Cleveland Indians announced today they will officially cease to incorporate Chief Wahoo as a mascot/logo in 2019. Okay, i’ll admit that Chief Wahoo is a bit on the cartoonish side but really, are native american really offended?

I must admit that I am beginning to change my opinion on something that I have been fairly strongly vocal about recently…

This is fueled a little by a couple of things I’ve read recently regarding both Johan and Rio I admit. But they’re both speculative. It’s more fueled by the argument I posed yesterday that has had me thinking more about pitching than hitting.

The crux of it is simply that we are going to have to trust one or more rookies either at 3B or as pitchers. Our touted prospects may all be aces one day, but they haven’t proven anything yet. At least Johan has shown he can hit major league pitching. And trends suggest he is only going to show more power.

I’m leaning more toward letting our young stud pitchers season a little longer to be absolutely ready when they arrive (except Gohara; he’s ready now), and to redirect our spending toward veteran pitching. I can wait another year to see the next wave of “young guns”.

I realize this means less power and possibly little to no protection for Freddie. I do think that when Acuna arrives, he’ll display the power we’re expecting from him. And his performance could move him into a more responsible place in the lineup. And as I mentioned above, there is reason to believe Johan will also display a bit more power. So if we get solid defense and 15-20 HR out of 3B between Johan and Rio, I’m OK. And keeping Rio on the bench gives us a left handed bat and another guy whose “trends” suggest more power in 2018.

The flip side is that I want a solid veteran starting pitcher for my available $15M (as is speculated). If I can roll ot a rotation of Julio Teheran, Brandon McCarthy, TBD veteran, Mike Folty and Luiz Gohara, I feel pretty good about my staff. And that allows Sean Newcomb to work on his command in Gwinnett instead of Atlanta. It lets Max Fried to come to full fruition in his development. And at whatever point that one or more of them are ready to come up, a starter can be traded to fill a need elsewhere. Trading away starting pitching is always possible. Trading for starting pitching is what’s tricky. Signing a guy now gives us more flexibility this summer or next winter when we’re trying to hone in that truly competitive roster.

*Maybe a miracle could happen and Scott Kazmir could actually make a comeback

Hey, it’s possible. Thoppy is on record saying they aren’t counting on him for anything, and that whatever they get will be gravy. When Kazmir was healthy, which admittedly has not been often, he was good. Maybe 1 inning at a time…

I heard some sound bites from Thoppy recently where he was addressing the timeline for Ronald Acuna. Thoppy didn’t dance around the topic, rather he addressed it fairly straight forward.

I don’t have exact quotes, but the gist of it is this:

Acuna has not had very much time at the games highest levels. He might need a couple of months to “tighten some things up”.

At the same time, he has to answer to the other players with integrity, and thus is bound to them to put the best 25 players in the Atlanta dugout. If Acuna proves to be that, then he’ll be on the roster.

But perhaps the most telling thing he said was that Acuna had spent almost all of his time in the minors in CF, with little time in LF. Said he might need some time in Gwinnett getting attuned to LF. And with that answer we now know with relative certainty that Kakes will remain in RF as long as he’s here.

While I think they’are probably spot on with the position players, and probably the rotation, they are way off with the bullpen. Not even close. For one, neither Brothers nor Cabrera has a chance. Brothers is likely just system depth and has minor league options left. Cabrera has less control than Kim Kardashian and is probably not long for the organization. Not to mention that they didn’t even list Anyelo Gomez whom we picked up in the Rule 5 draft. He has to have a spot. Josh Ravin and Chase Whitley, neither of whom have a minor league option left, should get more consideration, especially Ravin. For the record, Akeel Morris is not on the 40-man roster, thus could become a victim of numbers. Also, I’m still beating the drum of having Lucas Sims pitch out of the bullpen as a swing-man of sorts.

CORRECTION: Forget what I said about Akeel Morris. He is on the 40-man roster. However, he has 1 minor league option remaining, so all things being equal, he’ll still start in AAA due to the numbers game.

I think Anthopoulos is serious about using starting prospects in the bullpen. I could see Fried, Sims or possibly even Newcomb getting bullpen time early, depending who gets the final spot in the rotation. I just have a feeling the Braves are going to go in a Dodgers sort of direction with pitching, not looking to squeeze 200 innings out of anyone, with the possible exception of Teheran — and maybe not even him, and making quality innings rather than quantity the top priority.

Not gonna argue that logic. Piggybacking young starters is something I’ve thought of before. Get 3-4 good hard innings out of one; bring in the next. The opposing team doesn’t get more than 2 AB’s off either of them. Works from both a strategic and physical standpoint.

All I can say is I hope all these young pitchers come to camp ready to pitch and compete. There are few givens on this staff so it is not going to allow for time to just “work on stuff” They are going to need to impress the bosses early and often.

Of course those who still have options would have to be exceptional to make the team in April.

Not gonna argue that logic. Piggybacking young starters is something I’ve thought of before. Get 3-4 good hard innings out of one; bring in the next. The opposing team doesn’t get more than 2 AB’s off either of them. Works from both a strategic and physical standpoint.

Just one more example of how much the game has changed in the past decade.

Look back at how hitting progresses throughout a game. Many times it’s the 3rd time through the lineup that hitters begin to adjust to a pitcher’s speed and location, not to mention their tendencies. That’s another reason managers are more prone to make a quick change in the new era, especially with a young pitcher.

One of the comments read about Folty’s ups and downs was related to opposing teams picking up what was coming (tipping his pitches) . Sometimes it is such a small seemingly insignificant thing but with so much video on every hurler in the game it is a wonder any pitcher can last more than 2 innings.

I also think that might have been part of Julio’s drop off in performance.

MLBTR: The Braves plan to have a spirited Spring Training competition for rotation jobs, as manager Brian Snitker tells Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that as many as three starting spots could be up for grabs. Julio Teheran and Mike Foltynewicz have two slots spoken for, and the newly-acquired Brandon McCarthy will be a strong favorite for the third slot if healthy. That leaves the likes of Max Fried, Luiz Gohara, Lucas Sims, Sean Newcomb, and Mike Soroka battling for the remaining rotation spots, plus Scott Kazmir could also be a factor if he can recover from the injuries that sidelined him for all of the 2017 season. Atlanta is more likely to use the starters that don’t win jobs as relievers rather than again use a six-man rotation, Snitker said.

Would I love to see them land Lance Lynn or Alex Cobb on a team friendly pact, or even a 1-year “pillow” contract? Well, of course I would. But if these are the pitchers we go into 2018 with, then I’m loving the competition. The phrase “competition breeds excellence” is true, and I don’t just hope, I expect excellence to come from this competition. May the best 5 open the season full bore.

And to be honest, I love the idea of taking guys like Fried or Newcomb or Sims or whomever and using them out of the pen. For one, it keeps them in the major league atmosphere and better prepares them for when they will be needed as starters. For another, some may be better suited to that role anyway ala Andrew Miller, Brandon Morrow, or Wade Davis. Sims could fall into that category. And finally, one or all could have a higher upside than a guy like… Chase Whitley? Not to disparage Whitley, but Sean Newcomb’s big hammer is a known. What does Whitley have? I dunno, and that’s kind of the point.

The bottom line is that there will be more starting candidates than rotation spots, and by overflow there will be more reliever candidates than bullpen spots. And that leads to great competition, which in turn truly leads to excellence.

I’m expecting several of these guys to take steps forward this year. How big will those steps be? I suppose we’ll see in late March, eh?

OK… before I head off to work, I just read an interesting piece that says that since Baseball America started their Top 100 prospect rankings in 1990, the Atlanta Braves not only lead the total count of prospects listed with 150, they also lead in #1’s with 6. (One guy topped the list twice, so there are really just 5 guys.) Isn’t that interesting?

Of course, this is relevant because uber-prospect Ronald Acuna is this year’s #1. But can you name the other 4 guys? Can you guess who was #1 twice? (No peaking at the readily available article.) 😉

OK… before I head off to work, I just read an interesting piece that says that since Baseball America started their Top 100 prospect rankings in 1990, the Atlanta Braves not only lead the total count of prospects listed with 150, they also lead in #1’s with 6. (One guy topped the list twice, so there are really just 5 guys.) Isn’t that interesting?

Of course, this is relevant because uber-prospect Ronald Acuna is this year’s #1. But can you name the other 4 guys? Can you guess who was #1 twice? (No peaking at the readily available article.) 😉

One or 2 are pretty obvious. The others might take a little thinking.

Apparently i stumped everyone into complete silence.

I’ll give you one of the other 4: Chipper Jones. That one was easy and I’m sure you all would have guessed it anyway. Now… can you guess the other 3?

Brandon McCarthy….well, unless they do do some goofy thing like starters going 3-4 innings, and calling it a day (If Justin Verlander was coming up today, no one would even know what he was capable of) I just don’t see him being much of a factor, at least not for the full season. He reached 200 innings, once, in 2014. Ok you say, a lot of guys don’t do that…no biggie. Ok, his next best year was 170 , in 2011. 3rd best year? 135 innings in 2013. So , at 34 , after pitching around 150 innings over the last 3 seasons (I Know, TJ, freak injury to boot), how many starts will he make? How many innings will he pitch?

Yeah… me either. The way I see it, he’ll hold down a spot for about a half year and then be traded at mid-season if he pitches well enough. That ought to buy enough time for Mike Soroka to get ready.

But let’s be clear. Thoppy didn’t go and trade for McCarthy in hopes that he’d be a factor on the 2018 team. I’m sure he hopes he can contribute, but that wasn’t the motivation. He traded for Mc to make the Kemp deal work. And that’s OK by me.

As it stands, the early rotation will be Julio, Folty, Mc, Gohara, Newcomb/Fried.

And the other of Newcomb/Fried will be in the bullpen. I’m kind of leaning toward Fried winning the starting job with Newk coming in from the pen. As I said earlier, that big curve of his could be devastating for 1 or 2 innings at a time. If he can just dial in that control. That issue alone could send him back to AAA to start the year. I think Fried has the higher upside, and I hope it’s on full display during spring. Steve Avery 2.0? Could be…

By August, it could be Julio, Folty, Gohara, Fried, Soroka. It’s young but potentially very good.

Scott Kazmir is a complete wild card because he didn’t pitch at all in 2017 and there is still no indication when/if he will pitch for the Braves.

Brandon McCarthy was to a certain degree attractive to AA as a veteran pitcher, but most importantly because his contract is up after 2018. Any spin that the Braves wanted him for his pitching ability is just that… spin. His most attractive quality is his short deal. That will also be attractive to potential trade partners at mid-season.

When Mc is on his game, he’s actually a pretty good pitcher. I think there is a decent comp to Julio in that regard. What makes him different from Julio is that he is a ground ball pitcher and historically doesn’t give up alot of HR’s. In STP, that’s not a bad thing.

Looking back on 2017, Mc had a pretty good first half, and not as good 2nd half. Let’s hope he repeats the “pretty good 1st half” this year and can be traded for anything of value by the deadline.

Okay, I know the Braves wanted to be rid of Matt Kemp but could have just released him if there was no return.

Oh but there was return. Valuable return.

Had the Braves simply released Kemp, they still would have been on the hook for his contract amount for another 2 years. With the trade, Kemp’s entire obligation went to the Dodgers, and we got back at least 1 functional pitcher and possibly 2 in McCarthy and Kazmir, a highly regarded utility guy in Charlie Culbreath, and Adrian Gonzalez for a couple of minutes. But we also clear every bit of the money formerly owed to Kemp once this season is completed thanks to all the short deals we got back in return. That translates to what is now a total payroll commitment of just $36,476,042 for 2019 heading into what is thought to be one of the most fruitful FA classes in recent memory once 2018 wraps.

Think about that for a minute…

Even if the Braves just maintain their +/-$120M payroll level, that’s $85M to spend in whatever manner they choose. And if they bump it as expected with new revenues from The Battery, that figure can grow even more.

There is also a school of thought that says the Braves could “borrow” against that 2019 flexibility and spend some of that capital on a pitcher this year if the prices fall enough in the next couple of weeks. You do realize that there is only 11 days until P&CR, right?

Among the many FA pitchers still available: Jake Arrieta, Alex Cobb, Yu Darvish and Lance Lynn. Darvish is at least being discussed by a handful of teams and should get close to what he wants from either LAD or MIL. I haven’t heard much about Arrieta, but he’ll likely land in MIL if they lose out on Darvish, or back with the Cubs.

As for Cobb and Lynn? No real chatter. Each are looking for a similar deals – 5 yrs/$125M. Neither will get it. Each could get 4, but not at $25M per year. If the price falls to 3 years at $20M per, the Braves could jump into the conversation. That’s a big drop, though.

IMO, that still won’t happen. I think the Braves would still like to trade for a young “ace”-type with longer control and lower annual $ – i.e., Chris Archer or Michael Fulmer – if the return price wasn’t prohibitive. But the price on those guys is going to be steep. Very steep. And AA is still on the learning curve and not apt to jump into any such deal.

That’s alot of talent, folks. And TBH, it’s a big reason the FA market this offseason has been so slow. Many teams are simply holding onto their FA $$ to spend next season. The notable exceptions are teams going all in for 2018, such as LAD, MIL, CHC, WAS, etc.

I believe that if the Braves could pick up a consistent starting pitcher right now and a power source for either 3B or OF (in Markakis’ spot), they could contend for a Wild Card berth this year. That assumes typical to better development from their current youngsters, the expected impact of Ronald Acuna and relatively few injuries overall. There isn’t alot of depth currently behind the 25 man roster.

I think it is rich for Kenley Jansen to utter the notion of a strike if teams don’t jump on the free agent market. That is a person who is hugely out of touch with the real world. I guess he has been exposed to the left coast too long.

Stock market taking a beating today… HAHAHA… It is all about profit taking plus all those baby boomers’s having their mandatory withdrawals take affect.

Ride it out folks….

Now Braves: I am of the mind that the Braves will now wait until they are into spring training so they can put some eyeballs on who they have. I believe a lot of other teams are of the same mind. Most of the vets say spring training is about 3 weeks too long anyway so getting someone into camp mid March. The same guys are still available…

Roughly a week before Spring Training, and so many impact FA’s still available. I certainly don’t buy into the “collusion” accusation, but you do have to wonder how this is dragging out so long. The real tale will be told when these guys start signing deals and we see how much LESS they get than they thought. And that’s also when the cries of “collusion” will get even louder.

But from a selfish standpoint, I sure wish a guy would fall to us. Be it Todd Frazier or a pitcher. I’d just like to see a little upgrade somewhere. A little nugget. Just something.

“We’ve talked about the loss of power and how to make up for it. I don’t have an answer today. Normally you’d say ’Wow, it’s late January, how do you not have an answer?’ But there’s a lot of free agents still out there and there’s a lot of bodies.”

My gut still says he’ll make a move before the season starts. 3B just seems the logical place.

After dumping Matt Kemp’s future salary back on the Dodgers in exchange for current year expenditures, the Braves are at the edge of their available payroll. Roster Resource projects 2018 payroll at $116.6M give or take $100K. That’s about $4M short of last’s year’s end of season number and about $13.5M short of the number most consider their upper limit.

Moving Markakis $11M would give him leeway to make an addition in the outfield but for now that hasn’t happened. It appears that means moving all of Kakes money, even if the return is an A ball player we’ve never heard of.

He’s basically restating what we’ve already said about payroll. But he does throw in the presumption that the Braves would like to replace Markakis also. I’m not so sure that’s true. It’s hard to replace 2/3 of an OF (unless your Miami and just replace the whole dang thing), especially when one of the replacements is just 20 years old. Also, this is a young team that needs some veteran leadership. Kakes epitomizes that.

I believe that Markakis may have maximum trade value at the deadline this year if they do want to move him, but I’m of the belief they do not want to. He’s a steady presence that can be counted on for 162 games. That’s a comfort this team may choose to rest on in this transitional year.

If you were to add Frazier this season and next, allow the pitching to percolate another year, allow Acuna to get a year under his belt, then sign Charlie Blackmon in FA next year, you really have something there.

I have stated repeatedly that I think the Braves would trade Markakis for 1/2 of his $11MM salary to free up money. That would allow them to sign a third baseman (Frazier) .

The real problem with the free agent market is a super agent (cough) Scott Boras inflating the market cost. At a certain point, team owners say “enough” and close the old saddle bags.

There will always be super stars who command big paychecks but a lot of not so top tier talent believes they deserve the same money. It is hard to be hungry when you have several million in the bank. Then there is the ego factor. Why aren’t I being paid as much as the other guy?

The real problem with the free agent market is a super agent (cough) Scott Boras inflating the market cost.

There will always be super stars who command big paychecks but a lot of not so top tier talent believes they deserve the same money.

It is reported that Eric Hosmer has a couple of 7 year offers on the table but he’s asking for 8 years, comparable to what Mark Teixeira received from the Yankees. Two problems… the Yankees aren’t bidding and he ain’t Mark Teixeira.

Reportedly 2 years/$17M. That’s dang cheap, folks, for RH power. I don’t understand why we couldn’t have filled an obvious need at that price point. It almost makes me question what the goal of this season is all about. Filling a glaring void for under $10M per year seems like a no brainer. And he goes to the stinkin’ Mets of all places. That’s doubly worse.

Is the goal for this season to compete and win? Or is it to gain another top draft pick? All I want is for the suits to be honest with me. They tell me they want to win games. AA says that the 25 men on the major league field are the priority.

But their actions do not reflect their words

Rather, their inaction does not reflect their words.

As currently constituted, this is still not even a .500 team. They tell me there is money to spend. They told me there would be a bump in payroll this year. Yet, it’s currently about $6M under last year’s ending payroll. Something doesn’t add up… literally.

I hope AA has something lying in the weeds, because this is starting to feel a little like the same old song played over again.

For $17M the Mets just passed us in the standings. Glad we have Miami in the division. At least we shouldn’t finish last. I hope.

I suppose before I get too despondent, it must be noted that there are rumblings that Mike Moustakas might be had on a 1 or 2 year deal now.

I’ve said before that I don’t believe any 2 year, or even 3 year deal would necessarily be a block to Austin Riley. First, Riley has yet to prove he’s an absolute lock to make a major league roster. Yes, he’s shown great power potential. But as a high school football coach of mine said many years ago, “Potential just means he ain’t done $#!+ yet.” Just ask Dustin Peterson.

But let’s just suppose on best case scenario that Riley looks ready to contribute mid-season 2019. You don’t think you could trade an established power hitting 3B with 1 1/2 years left on his 3 year deal? What if it’s just an expiring 2 year deal? To a contender? This is no real block if Riley is ready.

I am now forced to leave the Todd Frazier drum, but I can start beating the Moose drum.

C’mon, Thoppy. Get us a power bat so that we have a real competitive major league lineup. Please..?

The cat looks so much like our Littlejohn. The photo I have on my facebook page shows him watching a Braves game. He always seemed to be trying to figure out what those little tiny humans were doing. Playing with a ball yet! What a joy he was to us. So badly missed. Had a dream last night wherein a little yellow and white cat was here, named Tango. Who knows. A little soon yet, I feel.

DO’B states that “after talking to some people about the situation”, the Braves were never really close to offering a contract to Frazier. First, the suits want to see Johan Camargo play everyday so that they know what they have. I suppose I can understand that to a point. It’s what rebuilding teams do. I’m just tired of the rebuilding. My patience is getting thin after 3 losing seasons… especially when all the suits are telling me they have switched their priority to the team in STP.

Anyway, and maybe more importantly, O’B believes the team may not have the $ left to spend that everyone thinks they have. If that part is true, then I call Terry McGuirk a liar. He specifically said the Braves would increase their payroll from last season. They are currently below last year’s total. Sadly, I do believe that the money is as much an issue as anything. It shakes my trust in the things I hear now. I don’t like being lied to. If the team is planning to play 2018 close to the vest and continue the rebuild track, then tell me that. I can take it. I can’t take being lied to. It pisses me off.

Bottom line, B&Sians, prepare for another sub-.500 season. It’s coming and we might as well accept it.

Vee, as a life long union capo, being lied to by the suits was an everyday expectation. Sadly, everybody lies… Some more than others and those get really good at it. TRUST BUT VERIFY… wow, is that ever a true statement.

So, the Braves pitching staff is going to need to really step up and hurl a bunch of one run games if they hope to have a winning record. Just tough getting old and waiting to win again, you just never know if you will last long enough to see it. On the other hand, if you don’t, it doesn’t really matter all that much does it?

CL, at one point we had 5 cats…and a poodle. Not really a dog 😉 That’s mean. Fearless as a big dog. Just didn’t look the part. While you would never say it out loud, it was “nice” to have so many pets, because it’s so painful when one dies, but at least you have those others to love on….and love you.
in 1999 we had 6 animals, and my Mom was still alive. by 2007, all were gone….
we have a couple of friendly feral cats that we feed and water, but for several reasons haven’t had any indoor cats since. (well, we tried bringing in a brother and sister that were ferel, that did NOT work out)
but, someday when I have indoor cats again, I there will be 2…

At one time, we also had a entire herd, but they were all near the same age and the time came that every few months, there was a new little grave behind the house. I definitely agree on two; they need someone besides an elderly human to play with! 😀

now, baseball…
I am not sure why but I have been a bit agnostic when it comes to the braves this off season….
almost always knowing “your” team is no longer going to go after the biggest free agents is odd. Of course, you can’t just buy a team full of free agents…at least thats what they say 😉
but, between not being a large market team (what a joke, drive in rush hour traffic like I have been doing for 2 months, and it’s not hard to believe there are at least 5.7 million people in and around the ATL-just read we are now the 9th largest metropolitan area in the country…I know, tv contract from hell)
and not being good for 3 years, seeing most everyone I followed save FF traded away…, even a new stadium (drive by the old one every day, looks fine to me, in fact I think it’s a better looking stadium, and was closer to me, but whatever, its the past)I don’t know. Just not feeling it.
I do know winning helps, no doubt. Is that likely to happen this year?
I don’t mind 2 rookies in the same lineup, I really like the fire Camargo possesses….like he’s telling himself, they just think I’m a all glove no hit guy, eh? just give me a chance….but, will he hit 20 HR’s? or 8? Will Dansby hit 20 HR’s or be in AAA in June? I read Acuna only has to spend 12 days/games in the minors…I can live with that, much better than say June…
we will have exciting guys to watch , on the mound too…thing is, Gohara, et al, a lot are still VERY young, which means….pitch and inning limits….are we really going to have guys go 4 innings, and say, great job, get ’em in 5-6 more days?
Did I mention I am not crazy about a lot of the changes to todays game?

My old dog is relegated to hanging around me all day while I work from my office. He mostly sleeps, but gets a little restless from time to time. Not saying he’s bad or anything, just, uh… mischievous.

At what point does David Wright give in and let the insurance policy pay back his salary to the Mets? If he retires on a medical disability, does that void his contract with the Mets? Just wondering out loud.

Gil, MLBTR had something about that just the other day…lets see if I can find it. …ok, searching his name did NOT work, got a story from October as the most recent one…so no link for you… (you being MLBTR, not you Gil 😉 The Mets will be able to place David Wright on the 60-day disabled list as soon as Feb. 14, notes Ken Davidoff of the New York Post, which could be advantageous given the glut of free agents that remain unsigned and the number of players that’ll be jettisoned from 40-man rosters throughout the league as free agents (presumably) begin to sign at some point in the coming weeks. New York can’t and won’t simply release Wright, as doing so would cancel their insurance policy on the remaining $47MM of his contract (which reportedly covers 75 percent of his salary) and because Wright continues to strive for an improbable comeback. If Wright ultimately decides he’s no longer able to continue his career, the Mets and the insurance company could work out a settlement, but that doesn’t seem likely for the current season, it seems. Wright is owed $47MM through 2020 — $20MM in 2018, $15MM in 2019 and $12MM in 2020.

Cool feature of speed-up-the-game negotiations between MLB and players: The return of bullpen carts! Union has asked MLB to consider them, and MLB is considering it, where possible, as early as 2018 season.

In all seriousness, how much time could a bullpen cart actually save? I’m sure some wonk was paid a salary to sit down to video tape and run a stopwatch on relief pitchers coming in from the bullpen. I would imagine guys like Todd Coffey and Heath Bell, who sprint in ala John Rocker, were excluded from the study.

But what might it save… 2 minutes? 3 minutes? And if you think about it, that would rob the network of 3 minutes of commercial time. Think that will happen? Nope. They’ll still work that time in anyway. So the net result could actually be longer.

It’s all silliness anyway. If you want to watch something in under 2 hours, don’t watch a baseball game. It;s that simple. Baseball is what it is because it’s a game built upon matchups and strategies, moves and counter-moves. It’s a chess game on the diamond. It’s pitcher vs. hitter and manager vs. manager. It’s not a neat tidy pre-packaged presentation that will time down to a quick conclusion. You can’t get it out of the microwave or through the drive-thru… and that’s the rub.

The industry-wide assumption remains that free-agent outfielder J.D. Martinez will land in Boston, but the Red Sox cannot be sure.

Martinez, 30, has yet to accept Boston’s reported five-year, $125 million offer. He is telling people in Miami that he is willing to hold out until he gets his price. He also is telling people that he is fed up with the Red Sox’s inflexibility and would rather sign with another club, sources say.

So, in order to improve the game, people work diligently at destroying it. Here is the rub, for the most part, the game moves along at a decent pace until someone starts playing head games either on the mound or in the batter’s box. I know, it can be stressful on both parties but how many times have we seen a reliever come in and slow the game to a glacial pace?

MLB is not slo pitch softball…. No 2 strike outs or foul balls counted as strikes. No three pitch walks. No, the real culprit is often reviews of plays. I think there should be a 60 second rule, if video review can’t determine the correct call in a short time with video, how in the world does anyone think an umpire can do it in real time?

Padres Executive Chairman Ron Fowler indicated Tuesday the team is not planning significant changes to its offer to free-agent first baseman Eric Hosmer. The Union-Tribune reported earlier this month that the Padres had presented agent Scott Boras with a seven-year deal worth less than $140 million, and the club apparently has not budged from that position.

Boras began the winter seeking an eight-year contract in the neighborhood of $200 million, according to industry sources.

Last month it was reported that the Brewers made a 5-year offer to Yu Darvish. The team was close lipped on $$ details, but speculation was that it was “$24-$28 million per season”. Darvish wants 6 years guaranteed. The Crew pulled it off the table when they made their OF acquisitions instead, including the FA signing of Lorenzo Cain for $80,000,000.00. But the Brewers are the bad guys?

MLB players use their union card in a very hypocritical manner. I do not think they would garner much support from the fans after the way they reacted in 1994-95. My advice is to lower your expectations a bit and understand owners are tired of getting burnt by long term contracts.

So, it is all flack being throw up by Scott Boras who has a vested interest in getting to most he can out of his prized pigs…

I don’t know how accurate Puxatawny Phil is with his weather forecast but I am currently looking at a sure sign of spring being right around the corner. I have a very large flock of transient Robins foraging on my front lawn (it’s a very large lawn by the way) as they mark their way north. While we have many Robins which are permanent residents here, there are many more which are migratory.

So, along with spring training, other encouraging trends are taking place. The NASCAR season is also about to start so can winter soon be in our review mirror like earth is to Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster???

I think a big, actually very big factor in all of this is the emergence of analytics in every front office. In the past, if Mike Moustakas ginned up a fantastic walk year like he just did, he’d be rewarded with a big contract from one of many suitors. But now, these new age front offices are looking at the analytics and coming to the realization that 2017 was an anomaly and not the norm. They see the hidden numbers underneath the visible numbers and see a guy that isn’t as productive as his 38 HR total might suggest. They also see a guy that has endured injury and has seen his defensive metrics suffer because of it. Bottom line, they see a questionable investment.

IMO, Moose should sign a 1-year “pillow” contract and prove that 2017 was more the norm and less the exception. If he can prove that, then he’ll have more leverage next year.

I’ve heard it said that it’s ridiculous when billionaires and millionaires argue about salary. As for Mr. Hosner, I’d let him sit in Boras’ office and count gummy bears or something. $200MM? Too much for anybody, IMHO. Back to the old question: how many millions are enough?? I personally don’t even need one; a half would be way more than enough. Don’t need a mansion, don’t need a fancy car (or cars). Players must be real high maintenance people. In my book, less is more. Just my thoughts.

Scott Boras does his clients a disservice in my opinion. He sells them on a false doctrine about their worth and he makes them believe it. Then he purposely cuts off the players’ current teams from attempting to extend a current deal, always preferring to take his clients into the open market. Then he advises them to hold out until January to maximize their demand and create some sense of market nervousness, typically resulting in some owner caving and overpaying. It was a tactic that was very effective for a number of years.

Only this year the tactic stopped working.

And Boras’ response is not to self-examine and adjust, but to blame the “greedy” owners for looking out for their own best interests. For years the agents and Players Association have slowly blurred the line between employer/employee, shifting the power from the guy signing the paycheck to the guy receiving it. How can this be?

The owners are not without their own share of the blame. They have made the players media stars by selling their product out like whores to the highest bidding media source, raking in billions of dollars themselves on unfathomable TV contracts. So when the players want a little bit of it for themselves, the owners slink back like Rafael Palmeiro in a Congressional hearing and point their fingers at us and tell us they haven’t anything wrong.

And maybe they haven’t. But they have done is create a junkie-like dependency on those players to put out an eye-catching product for their TV puppet-masters. And like crack heads, they’ll do the unreasonable to make sure they continue to get those consistent SportsCenter moments, those Web Gems that are as necessary to the lifeblood of their high dollar contracts as the team legacy itself.

It’s admittedly difficult to totally blame the players who make those amazing baseball moments that become the basis for the owners being able to rake in all of the TV money they get. At the same time, it’s hard to fault the owners who are, after all, the owners. It’s their team, liabilities and assets alike.

The guys who really get under my skin are the agents, who do nothing more than play one side against the other to suck as much of the blood out of each as they can. And then they turn to the Myrmidon-like press to complain against the “greedy” owners and plant seeds of unrest when they don’t get another off-season of record setting contracts. All I have to say is keep planting those seeds. It took several years for the baseball fans to come back after the last work stoppage. Do they think the fans will come flocking back after one based on nothing more than butt-hurt players turning down $140,000,000.00?

Soccer is really growing in popularity here in the Atlanta area, especially with the success of the fledgling Atlanta United. Did you know that soccer is played on a countdown timer that doesn’t stop except for injury? You can get those games in under 2 hours easily. That’s what the public wants, right?

The public itself has been dumbed down almost to the moron level and they don’t really have a clue about anything in real life anymore. It astounds me to see and hear some of them “comment” – on anything. Even some of the people in my neighborhood. I always think of Nancy Pelosi’s comment of the century as the stupidest off the stupid: “We’ll have to vote on it to see what’s in it!” And congress agreed with her. What does that say for them?? But that’s today’s world after a certain group got control of our former education system. (Now, it is simply an indoctrination system.) Interesting situation all the way around.

well, I don’t know that a few big deals offered means there isn’t at least some collusion going on…
I absolutely agree owners shouldn’t feel forced by borass, or any other agent to go 7-8 years on a player. One could even argue certain players (David Ortiz for one) might be able to make more on 1-2 year deals. Won’t hurt a team IF an Ortiz fails . You’d think there’d be some smart owners/gms/agents that might look into that. I know, players don’t want to have to move from Boston to Seattle every few years, and want to have some sort of home base.
So, shorten long term deals? sure….
but, why are there sooooo many free agents unsigned? Starters, outfielders, that could really help teams…
I know, teams have to watch there money, it’s not like every team is getting 50 million this year…oh wait, they are…http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2017/12/15/each-owner-will-get-at-least-50-million-in-early-2018-from-he-sale-of-bamtech/

Phat Albert signed his huge 10 yrs/$240M (2012-2021) with LAA after his age 31 season, and after putting up MVP caliber numbers for several years in St. Louis.

His OPS (on base percentage plus slugging percentage, the 2 most important numbers for a power hitter) have slowly declined each season since, save 2014 where it increased slightly to .790, but was still well below his star quality years.

In his heyday, he was consistently producing an OPS well above 1.000, peaking at 1.114 in 2008. In 2017, he gave the Angels a paltry .672 OPS, below that of our own much maligned Nick Markakis (.738). Heck, even Johan Camargo produced a .783 OPS.

Dumb on the part of the Angels, but not a basis for the other 29 teams to be equally dumb.

Owners are wising up to the fact that players are in their peak years between ages 28-31 (statistically proven, by the way) and are simply refusing to guarantee those extra long deals to players over 30.

The full camp roster… consists of the 40-man roster plus 21 non-roster invitees.

Nine players on the 40-man (Brandon McCarthy, Charlie Culberson, Scott Kazmir, Preston Tucker, Chase Whitley, Grant Dayton, Josh Ravin, Shane Carle and Anyelo Gomez) have joined the organization since the 2017 season ended. Two other newcomers to the 40-man (Adam McCreery and Ricardo Sanchez) were added from the Braves’ farm system.

Seven of the returning Braves will wear numbers different from the ones they wore at the end of last season. Luiz Gohara changed from 64 to 53, Sean Newcomb from 51 to 15, Max Fried from 61 to 54, Lane Adams from 16 to 18, A.J. Minter from 67 to 40, Dan Winkler from 63 to 58 and Akeel Morris from 60 to 61.

Some of those number changes give you some insight as to where the Braves are as far as their beliefs on who stands to make the team. While not a guarantee, it is pretty standard that a player wearing numbers in the 70s won’t usually break camp with the big team in April.

Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN… cites multiple sources in reporting that the offer is four or five years in length. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported yesterday that Darvish has received multiple offers worth $100M+, while Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported earlier today that he has “several” five-year offers. Given all three of those reports, it certainly seems plausible that the Twins have put forth a nine-figure offer to Darvish, which would easily be the largest commitment they’ve ever made to a free agent.

Boston Herald: “J.D. is involved in multiple negotiations and is pleased with the participants and the good faith process,” said agent Scott Boras in a text this afternoon. “Suggestions otherwise are not accurate.”

Kyle Muller, age 20, is the Braves’ #11 prospect. He’s 6’6″, 225 lbs., was a 2nd round pick in 2016, and is expected to open 2018 in low-A Rome.

MLB Pipeline: Muller uses his 6-foot-6 frame extremely well, throwing downhill and with sink. He also has good deception in his very repeatable delivery, so hitters do not square him up very often. His secondary stuff is inconsistent right now, but he does flash a plus breaking ball at times and has a good feel for a changeup with fade and tumble.

Source: Add the Braves to the list of teams that have expressed serious interest in infielder Eduardo Nunez. The Yankees, Rays and Red Sox are also in the mix. The Mets were in play until they signed Todd Frazier.

Been raining here since Friday, and is supposed to rain through Friday. that said, we’ve been in a drought here for a few months, so it’s pretty welcome. The 50-60 degree temps aren’t a bad thing either.

Speaking of baseball, Yu Darvish goes to the Cubs?!? 6 years, $126M with incentives that can bring it to $150M. Great signing if you can afford it, and the Cubs could afford it. Makes them instant favorites in the division again. Will Milwaukee or St. Louis answer by signing Arrieta? Stay tuned for that one.

Now that Darvish has landed (and set the market), I expect Arrieta, Cobb, and Lynn to all sign within the next couple of days. My uneducated guess calls for those three to be distributed among Milwaukee, Minnesota and a surprise team that nobody is expecting. Phillie maybe? Could happen.

Phillie and NYM both realize that the NL East is way down and that the division, except for the Nats, is ripe for winning in division games. So they’ve each made minor moves to move ahead of the rest of the pathetic pack and grab a Wild Card. And while I am resigned to 2018 being a “positioning” year for the Braves, we’re part of said pathetic pack, headed for another 85 to 89 loss season. One or two minor moves could have changed that.

Oh well, at least there’s no pressure with no expectations. Yikes! I’m starting to sound like a Democrat!

Out of all the theories as to why this year’s FA market moved so slowly, when it actually moved, the one tI think may hold the most credence is that teams are holding onto their resources for next year’s more promising market.

The only teams to make big signings this offseason has been teams that expect to contend now. It’s exactly why the Braves didn’t make a signing just to move up a notch in their rebuild schedule.

Rather, teams that intend to make a big splash to jump back into contention are waiting for next year’s market which promises to offer more impact players.

For example, we’ve talked about the Braves not wanting to block Austin Riley, which is somewhat understandable. The flip side of the argument is that he’s still an unknown, and if you sign a guy now, he becomes a certainty and Riley becomes a trade chip. And that is 100% accurate. But then the question becomes: Do cash in now for Zack Cozart? Mike Moustakas? Todd Frazier? Eduardo Nunez? Or do I wait another year and make a run ad Manny Machado or Josh Donaldson? Folks, that’s like asking do I want to drive a Nissan or Toyota, or would I rather ride in a Mercedes or BMW?

I can jump out there now and buy that Altima and be committed to it for the next 6 years. Or I can wait a year and get in that nice BMW M6.

Does that mean the Braves will be in on Machado or Donaldson in 2019? Impossible? No. Likely? Uh…

But the point remains. Traditional big spender LAD didn’t get in the big FA waters because they are already at the Luxury Tax threshold and want to bring Clayton Kershaw back in 2019. The big money Yankees are similarly toeing the tax line and want to make a run at Machado in 2019. And there’s no telling which West Coast team will win the Bryce Harper derby, but they better have deep pockets. Can you imagine Bryce Harper and Mike Trout in the same OF? You might want to start envisioning it. The Angels have about $50M coming off their books after this season. That should just about cover it.

No that this is terribly newsworthy, but it is news. Folty was “defeated” in arbitration on Saturday. He’ll make $2.2M in 2018 instead of the $2.3M he wanted. Not exactly a crushing loss. And given that Folty and his bride also welcomed their newborn son on the same day, I doubt he was punching walls or kicking the dog over it.

(Note: The Braves opening day payroll, including all the money owed to former players and all the money received by the Braves from other teams, should be in the neighborhood of $116.5M. Not exactly public housing, but not a gated community, either. Hopefully next year we’ll be like the Jeffersons and moving on up.)

I can’t help thinking… Folty made $544,000 last season in his last year before becoming arb eligible as a Super 2 this year. In his first dance at the arb table, he chose to fight over a $100,000 difference when they were offering him a near 300% raise for losing 13 games last season.

I know I’m just a working-class shmoe that will never come close to making that kind of coin in my lifetime, but I just don’t get it.

I’m thinking that maybe Folty was just testing the arbitration route. Filed away for future reference next season now that he knows the parameters. I think he best be aware of the thundering herd running up his back though.

From watching the MLB network, it appears may players have been at their respective spring training sites for weeks, I would suspect the same is true for most of the bachelor prospects and few of the married ones too. Not sure if the club picks up the tab for housing or if they get a per diem for meals or if they cannot pay during the off season (union) but it’s all good.

What is the adage? There is no off season any more. Just the organized workouts. I guess there are some legal restrictions on players against injuries but who knows other than the lawyers.

Anyhoo… I am happy there will be increased news on the Braves coming out of the magic kingdom. Let the games begin….

I was reading a blurb on Christian Pache on hit hitting (or lack off) prowess. I have to laugh a bit at the concern of the lack of fly balls hit. Pache is a speed demon, he has to use his legs as a weapon. I cannot help but think of all the players who have warning track power who fans become frustrated with because of their fly ball rate.

Okay, work on line drives and hitting the ball on the ground….(Level swing)

In attempt to avoid the hearing, the Braves offered Foltynewicz a $2.25 million salary before ending negotiations on Jan. 12, when all Major League teams were required to swap figures with their unsigned arbitration-eligible players.

Providing another sign of his ultra-competitive nature, which could prove quite beneficial once he learns to harness his aggression on the mound, Foltynewicz opted to go through with the hearing and make the $2.3 million salary request.

So he passed on a straight compromise of $2.25M to fight for $2.3M and ultimately lose and be awarded $2.2M?

Yahoo sports: Harold Reynolds said on MLB Network on this morning that Matt Kemp lost 41 pounds during the offseason. Reynolds added that Kemp was pushing to lose 50 pounds. Kemp showed up at Dodgers camp today and people are saying he’s noticeably thinner.

In other news, Matt Kemp had 40-50 pounds to lose.

Right. We’ll see how long that lasts. We’ve heard this song before. Fat Matt will be hitting up the late night drive-thru for that Baconater quicker than you can say “Training Table”.

It looks like all of DOB’s info on the Braves is only available if I am willing to pay for it. I choose to remain ignorant but solvent…

To be honest, I have been considering dropping him from my Twitter feed as well. He hasn’t really given me any insight that I’m not getting from Bowman or McAlpin… or now the youngster Gabe Burns. And with them I don’t get his personal music and movie tastes crammed down my throat… or be made to feel inferior of I don’t agree with his tastes 100%. He’s even beginning to trickle some of his political leanings into his Twitter occasionally. I don’t really want any of that.

About 3 years ago I had changed my major from music performance to psychology. Had no idea what I was doing. Now I'm writing about pro sports. Really, really thankful. Things can happen quickly in your life. Always keep your head up.

Youngster Gabe Burns. I have read much of his writing for the ajc (that’s not for sale) and I think he’s a very talented writer. I look forward to seeing his input this season. He’s DOB’s beat backup as well.

I remember the thinking of the Evil Empire on hiring when I worked for them. They coveted any person with a college degree in any field. They felt it showed an individual had the ability to learn useless facts in a short amount of time and were capable of being committed to a goal.

So, at least young Gabe will be able to decipher why the people around him are crazy… 🙂

Most of the early stories are about what the players did during their vacations. I cannot blame those who are able to write and get paid for it, it’s a good gig if you can get it. It helps to be independently wealthy to begin with however.

Anyone watch Shawn White win his gold medal last night. Those tricks are downright scary… Now, for all you curling fans out there…. Never complain that baseball is a boring sport to watch.

The Winter Olympics… meh. I used to watch some of it, and still might watch some of the traditional winter sports such as skiing, luge, bobsled, etc. I just have a hard time watching the X Games at the Olympics. I mean, any activity that enables the participant to put down their beer, take their turn, pick their beer back up, doesn’t seem like a sport to me. I just don’t see Shaun White with a personal trainer eating spinach and kale and getting in those 500 reps a day on the squat machine. I see him a little bit more like Jeff Spicoli ordering a pizza and Doritos at the ski lodge bar after an afternoon of shreddin’ the gnar and carvin’ the pow.

It really doesn’t make sense to sign another catcher on a ML deal and take up your only remaining 40-man roster flexibility. (P Grant Dayton was moved to the 60-day DL to make room.)

Not when you have Tyler Flowers and Kurt Suzuki already in house, with Rob Brantly parked at AAA alongside Kade Scivique. And don’t forget they signed Tyler Marlette back in December. So I suppose they’ll carry 4 catchers at AAA Gwinnett?

And you don’t want to bump Marlette or Scivique back to AA because you’re developing your prospect Alex Jackson there.

I don’t get it as a standalone deal. There has to be more to the picture…

So the word was out the Braves were close to signing an outfielder but signed a catcher?

I think Bowman needs to clear out his ears. He said he heard “outfielder”, but that Thoppy was in fact discussing “catcher”.

I think the front office is nervous about Acuna, not that he won’t be a great player but if he can stand the rigors of facing big league pitching.

The only thing I believe the suits are afraid of is maximizing their opportunities to retain him in 7 years. But here’s my thinking…

The team has already proven they’ll sign a guy they feel to be foundational. Just look at the deal they gave Ender last season. So what does the mythical 7th year of contractual control really mean anyway? If Acuna turns out to be close to the hype, they’ll attempt to sign him to a multi-year deal before he gets close to FA anyway.

If he’s good enough to make the team, let him play on Opening Day. It’s one of the few things the fans have to look forward to in 2018.

“It would have been nice if someone from the Braves were actually there. I took a couple of days out of my schedule to go out to Arizona and go sit there. The world knows it wasn’t a big amount of money we were fighting over, but it would have been nice if they would have been there to sit with their lawyers and tell me why we don’t deserve this contract and this raise. It would have been nice.

“I took time out of my day, and almost missed my son being born. It’s just a respect thing. But at the end of the day, we’re here (at spring training), no worries, business is business. Just focus on getting out there, getting better and getting wins for the Braves.”

The Braves were represented at the hearing by chief legal officer Greg Heller and Danielle Monday, a baseball-operations assistant.

Folty is beginning to concern me a little. First he dismisses a compromise deal that was only $50K less than he wanted to go battle against his team over a mere $100K difference. Then he wants to gripe about the team to the press? And over something he was completely wrong about anyway?

First, where is the apology to the team for being a dumbass in the press? I think he owes them one for being so smarmy about their wrongly accused cavalier treatment of his arb case.

Second, I’m genuinely concerned that Folty is becoming the classic “million dollar arm, 10 cent head” pitcher. Maybe he can actually turn in a winning season this year and go strutting right back to the arb table next year with something of substance. But I’ve got to see it to believe it. He hasn’t shown me that capability yet.

And sadly for him, he’s about to have a whole bevy of more talented pitchers start crawling right up his butt. He might be one of the few rotation certainties this season, but I don’t even think he’s a lock for the major league roster in 2019. Not with Max Fried, Mike Soroka and Kolby Allard ready to pass him in their dust.

“My dudes (lawyers, agent) were there. No one from the Braves. It would have been nice for them to zip over there and tell me why I didn’t deserve it instead of being where they were. I traveled out there, took a couple of days out of my time even from throwing, getting better. We took some time off just to go out there and fight for what I thought I was worth. They didn’t think it, so it would have been cool if they would have been out there to back it up. But, no worries, just put my head down and go to work.

Again, the team had two representatives at the hearing. I’m still waiting for someone to ask Folty about that. I want to hear his response.

Thoppy says those with the best performance in spring training may not break camp with the big club. All about options…

In my head, I get that totally. In my heart, I want the best 25 in the dugout. But we’ve noted here several times that there are many players on the bubble with 0 options left. It’s no surprise to we Stuffians.

For review purposes, players with 0 options left are as listed below.

Players who should make the roster anyway:
IF Charlie Culberson
OF Lane Adams
P Jose Ramirez
P Sam Freeman

IMO, Thoppy is referring specifically to the bullpen, where Ravin, Whitley and Cabrera may all get longer looks into the season to determine if there is really anything there, even if the pen could be better served by having Max Fried, Lucas Sims, Dan Winkler or even Aaron Blair in it.

The only wiggle room is for Scott Kazmir, who has to prove himself healthy, and Viz, who actually has 1 option left. And it leaves off AJ Minter, who could be the closer already, and Dan Winkler, who may have the best overall “stuff” of all of them.

Also, I had to stop and remind myself that all the new chatter we’ve heard lately about payroll, roster, etc., has been told to the press by our own front office. They have a vested interest in making sure certain “narratives” (word of the year) are being put forth regarding their willingness and ability to acquire players. It gives them better positions of leverage.

I say all that to say this: Just because they say we don’t have any money left to spend, there is probably some money left to spend. And even though they say we aren’t going to sign anybody for LF or 3B, they still could do so anyway. And even though they say they aren’t going to trade any of our prospects until Thoppy has a better feel of who they all are, they still could pull of a surprise deal if the price is right.

I’m not convinced that we still won’t add someone (or two) before we break camp.

[Scott Kazmir] threw a bullpen today and Snitker had some praise and said he could factor in if stays healthy.

If it comes down to even or close race with others, here are 3 Braves bullpen candidates who must be kept on roster or likely be lost: Josh Ravin (out of options) and Rule 5 picks Anyelo Gomez and Dan Winkler.

I completely forgot that Winkler still has some time remaining to fulfill his Rule 5 obligation after missing so much of the last 2 years with injury. I can’t find an exact number of games listed anywhere, only “a few weeks”. Best I can estimate, it’s a little less than a month.

This was the only guy I thought the Braves still might add to the team. Not an option now. He made alot of sense in that he plays all over the field, including 3B, SS, 2B, and LF. He would have been a nice bridge to Austin Riley, or if Johan Camargo won the job, would have been a nice super-utility. He could have also capably held down LF for the month of April while Acuna ripens at AAA Gwinnett.

Granted, he was not the ideal fit in that he probably doesn’t have any more power potential than Johan or Rio, but his versatility fits right in with the current MO of our roster shapers.

The only 3B option still hanging out in the market is Mike Moustakas, who himself isn’t a clean fit. While he would provide some of the power that this team is lacking in a glaring way, 2017 was really a big power breakout for him. Is that the new norm? Nobody knows. And his defense is average at best, which cuts against the teams commitment to defense behind the young pitchers.

No, it appears that we will indeed go into the season with Johan and/or Rio at 3B. Oh well… it could work. Maybe. I hope it does.

The player that is currently flying under the radar that we really need to keep an eye on is OF Preston Tucker. Y’all remember him, right?

Preston Tucker: 27 years old, LH bat and arm, listed only as a LF.

We got him for the proverbial Player To Be Named Later and cash considerations. In other words, we bought him. He was purchased exactly 4 days after sending The Matt Kemp Experience out to the Left Coast. Coincidence/ Of course not. Gotta have insurance, right?

He appeared in 98 games for HOU in 2015 and 48 more in 2016. He spent all of 2017 at AAA. Granted, the HOU outfield is a hard one to crack.

Anyway, his MLB stats are fairly irrelevant at this point since there aren’t any recent ones. In 2017 at AAA, he slashed .250/.333/.465. Not eye popping, but he did slam 24 HR’s and 7 triples along the way… which is why the Braves wanted him.

Look, he’s not gonna make anyone forget that Acuna isn’t on the roster yet. And at age 27, he probably already is what he’s gonna be. But he is a LH power bat, something this team doesn’t have outside of Free. Platooned with Lane Adams, we could have a decent LF until The Answer To Everything is added to the roster. And after that, he does have a minor league option remaining. And given that our LH RF might only spend half the season in ATL, he’ll be good to have in the system.

I have bought in to the idea of seeing what we have in Johan and Rio at 3B. It’s taken alot of convincing, but I’m there. I still cannot reconcile the lack of power on this team, specifically to protect Free in the lineup. If I had it my way, we’d find a team in need of a veteran OF, a “professional hitter” if you will, and trade Kakes to a club that better fits his talents. Then trade for a real ML power bat for LF. After all, playing Ronald Acuna in LF wastes his considerable defensive skills a bit. He profiles better to RF.

#Braves cornerstone Freddie Freeman in the house. Upped his forearm workouts to every day this winter, noticeably thicker in arms. Said wrist feels great and eyes are problem-free since Lasik surgery 5 days after season.

I know all of us are anxious to have Acuna on the field, but I’m a little anxious about it. Francoeur keeps coming back to haunt me. Too much pressure could kill the kid’s ability and that pressure has to be there already. Chipper had the best advice to a young player: “Don’t read the press clippings! Just keep your head down and play the best you can.”

Nobody new can perform if he is constantly in the spotlight, constantly being expected to be the newest coming of Babe Ruth/Chipper Jones. Something will give. Kaboom!

Charlie Culberson in the house. The bench is showing up as well. Where are Johan and Rio? Come on boys. This is a pivotal time for you. And Kakes? The beard needs some sunshine! And whither Preston Tucker? Aren’t you trying to win a job? Acuna is.

I have to be honest… If I were a non-roster invitee to ML camp, I’d be there when the doors opened on the first day. I don’t understand waiting. I really don’t. Not if you want a job.

Yesterday’s Dan Winkler question has been answered. Courtesy of Bowman:

The right-handed reliever… is ready to separate himself from this chapter of his career. “The Braves have been great as they have believed in me the whole time,” Winkler said. “But I just want to be a normal player. I just want to be one of the guys. With the Rule 5, I’m tired of talking about it.” He needs to be on Atlanta’s active roster for 90 days before losing the Rule 5 restrictions.

There’s no reason to doubt the power potential possessed by Jackson, who dropped some jaws with a couple of long blasts he hit during Thursday’s batting practice. But some scouts have noticed some holes in his swing, and there is still reason to wonder if he is capable of defensively handling the catching position.

“I’m hearing some good things,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “The kid is improving. He still has some work to do. He has a good arm and he receives the ball well. One of the things I’m anxious to see and watch is him catch in some games. You watch him take batting practice and it’s something else. The ball just flies off his bat.”

My gut says the Braves seek a long term answer at catcher via trade, with Jackson being included in the return package. Probably won’t happen until after the 2018 season, but you never know. JT Realmuto still wants out in MIA. Can’t imagine the prospect package it would cost to acquire him. I bet Thoppy has a good idea, though.

Chris Stewart signed a major league contract for around $570,000. The caveat that if he did not make the major league club he could be released to find work with another club.

All young power hitters have holes in their swing. It is why it is rare to find a power hitter with a plus .300 average. He is still in AA so there is time for him to work on things. Watching him play in the AFL you could see he was not really smooth behind the plate but I also remember when Tyler Flowers played in that league and the same was said of his power. That was right before he was traded to the White Sox.

Don’t be all that surprised to see Brian McCann come back for one year after his contract with the Astros expires. Likely as a back up and mentor for some young gut.

Rio Ruiz continued his 3-year body transformation, #Braves 3B hopeful is again stronger, leaner. More importantly, says he worked with hitting coach Justin Turner and others use in L.A., and that he's fixed some things in his swing.